Reading The Burning Bridge
by Oakleaf girl
Summary: This is where most of the characters read the Burning Bridge as it is one of my fav books and I don't think anyone has done it before!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**I decided to do a reading of the Burning Bridge as everyone was doing the ruins of Gorlan. Hopefully you guys will like it!**

King Duncan was a man of great importance as he was the King after all. His clean shaven face accompanied with his bright green eyes, strong jaw and excellent manoeuvres in battle made him a fearsome warrior indeed. He rarely feared anyone and brought fear to anyone that deserved it. He woke up from his chambers early in the morning just as the dawn was rising and he startled in surprise when the light from the sun shone on an orange book with flames covered over it. He had never in his life seen such art before as many leather bound books had no drawings on the cover and any drawings that were present were usually crude and badly detailed. But this book had so much colour and life that he felt gravitated towards it. He picked it up musing to himself while he turned the sturdy book around. There was writing on the back that read

_Will, you are learning well, but you are soon to be tested…_

_For years the Kingdom has lived in peace, while the evil lord Morgarath has lived beyond the impassable mountains. But he has not been idle…_

_Now you must embark on your most dangerous mission yet. The King's army has been deceived, and is headed for a brutal ambush. And you are the only one who can save them. _

From reading the first few lines Duncan was already attracted. He shuddered a little when he read Mogarath's name but he also remembered hearing from Halt his most trusted advisor how Will had come to save the Kingdom and now after many years later he has received a detailed description of everything that had happened. This phenomenon was too exciting to keep to himself and it wouldn't be fair of him to read Will's journey without his consent. So he made a decision. He would write a letter to everyone that was most important to Will and request they were to visit him in Castle Araluan. Harvest week was to be soon where everyone had a week off work to relax, even brigands and robbers ceased to thief during that time as they sought a chance to have fun. Then they could start reading this strange but important book and most probably finish it within a week. So it was sorted. The Burning Bridge was to be read to everyone who was invited as a break for a change. This was it. He was going to read a part of Will's life.

**So… What did you think? I'll try and have the next chapter soon and I'm alternating between the stories I'm writing so I might be a little slow but whatever you thought of this book you can write down after pressing the review button! Please no flames! (I've always wanted to type that in a fanfiction) **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A light rap on the door interrupted Duncan from his immediate thoughts that were swirling around in his brain. He looked up from the cover of the book to let the special visitors waiting outside be welcomed into his humble yet magnificent meeting quarters where a huge oak tree made table dominated almost the entire room, portraits of unknown Princes and famous Kings hung up in various places of the room. The well oiled hinges of the broad doors swung open silently as Halt peered his face in. After assessing the room in which he had been in many times before in his life he strolled in with much of the air and confidence he had about him keeping his face completely neutral. He was followed by Baron Arald who came quietly for once, then Will who was already gawping rather inconsiderately at the portraits on the walls, Alyss who was beside him muttered quietly in his ears while shaking her head and his expression immediately changed from gawping to embarrassment while his face blushed furiously. They were shortly accompanied by Lady Pauline who was as calm as she was known to be, Horace who was already stationed at Castle Araluan, Cassandra or otherwise called as Evanlyn, Jenny who bounced rather than walked on the floor and lastly Gilan who had the same idiotic expression as Will had when he walked in. They all waited a little awkwardly for a couple of seconds before Lady Pauline had the common sense to bring about conversation.

"My Lord you expected to see us?" Her face was puzzled as her tone rose in pitch at the end of the question. King Duncan met her gaze and everyone else's and coughed slightly to fill the silence that came with her question.

"Well er yes. Please all of you sit down in one of the chairs and I will explain what has happened." Everyone did as they were told while Baron Arald who couldn't resist the temptation asked.

"Sir has anything happened that has caused trouble to you or the Kingdom recently?" Will had just thought about the same thing until his thoughts got distracted when he saw a portrait of him on the cover of a book full of flames. This sounded like his time in Celtica he thought worriedly.

"What no, no don't worry Arald actually there is another reason why I called you all here." He said.

"Is it to do with the book Sire?" Will interrupted before he could help himself. Unlike others he had always managed to get to the heart of a situation quickly and he sensed rather than knew that this very special meeting must have had something to do with the book. Others around him had just realised there was a book in the room and stifled a gasp at the life like colours and at Will at the front cover. The King blushed a little. He was impressed at Will's ability to figure this out as was Halt who had ignored the book just as everyone else had done.

"Indeed you are right Will. As everyone will notice now, this book has Will on the front. How this is possible I do not know but I believe this is a book about Will's time in Celtica and with Will's full permission I intend that we all read it together."

"Granted this must be a special book Sir but how can we just leave our jobs for a week to read a book?" Lady Pauline asked concerned. Duncan gave her one of his rare wolfish smiles and replied

"Ask no questions and I'll tell no lies. It can be sorted somehow I'm sure Anthony will come up with something but for now I believe reading this book is vital." He picked up light book in his hands and flicked through the first couple of pages.

"I thought we could read the first chapter then go for a break. How does that sound?" Everyone nodded their assent and the King began to narrate.

**HALT AND WILL HAD BEEN TRAILING THE WARGALS FOR three days. The four heavy-bodied, brutish creatures, foot soldiers of the rebel warlord Morgarath, had been sighted passing through Redmont Fief, heading north. Once word reached the Ranger, he had set out to intercept them, accompanied by his young apprentice. **

"**Where could they have come from, Halt?" Will asked during one of their short rest stops. "Surely we've got Three Step Pass well and truly bottled up by now."**

"Never does good to assume too much Will." Gilan said cockily.

"Gilan if I recall correctly you said about the same thing three weeks ago." Halt told him dryly. Gilan turned a tomato red while the King continued reading.

**Three Step Pass provided the only real access between the Kingdom of Araluen and the Mountains of Rain and Night, where Morgarath had his headquarters. Now that the kingdom was preparing for the coming war with Morgarath, a company of infantry and archers had been sent to reinforce the small permanent garrison at the narrow pass until the main army could assemble. **

"Don't know what we would do without them." Duncan sighed.

"Most probably would have died sir." Halt answered cheekily. Pauline decided Halt had been having too much fun with these remarks and kept a closer watching on him.

"**That's the only place where they can come in sizable numbers," Halt agreed.****"But a small party like this could slip into the kingdom by way of the barrier cliffs." **

**Morgarath's domain was an inhospitable mountain plateau that****towered high above the****southern****reaches of the kingdom. From Three Step Pass in the east, a line of sheer, precipitous cliffs ran roughly due west, forming the border between the plateau and Araluen. As the cliffs swung south west, they plunged into another obstacle called the Fissure**

**a huge split in the earth that****ran out to the sea, and****separated Morgarath's lands from the kingdom of the Celts. **

**It was these natural fortifications that had kept Araluen, and neighbouring Celtica, safe from**

**Morgarath's armies for the past sixteen years. Conversely, they also****provided the rebel warlord****with protection from Araluen's forces. **

A huge sigh escaped everyone's lips at the same time as they thought back to the days of Morgarath's wrath.

"**I thought those cliffs were impassable," Will said.**

**Halt allowed himself a grim smile. "Nowhere is ever really impassable. Particularly if you have****no respect for how many lives you lose trying to prove the fact. My guess is that they used ropes and grapnels and waited for a moonless night and bad weather. That way, they could slip past the****border patrols." **

**He stood, signifying that their rest stop was at an end. Will rose with him and they moved toward their horses. Halt gave a small grunt as he swung into the saddle. The wound he had suffered in the battle with the two Kalkara still troubled him a little. **

"That is definitely true." Halt murmured. Of all the injuries he had received getting one from a huge beast was by far one of the top ten. He remembered those times and shook his shoulder that was injured as a reflex. Pauline who was sitting beside him put her hand on his shoulder supportively.

"**My main concern isn't where they came from," he****continued. "It's where they're headin****g, and****what they have in mind." **

**The words were barely spoken when they heard a shout from somewhere ahead of them, followed by a commotion of grunting and, finally, the clash of weapons. **

The knights in the room raised their eyebrows a little as they heard the possibility of a fight head everyone's way.

"**And we may be about to****find out!" Halt finished. **

"Nice cliff hanger going on there Halt. Do you do that a lot?" Jenny asked. She rarely had much nerve to speak to the grim ranger despite her two friends being past apprentices but the atmosphere in the room had lightened a little and she wanted to know the answer to her question.

"Oh he does that all the time. It's kind of like his trade mark isn't it?" Will asked everyone in the room. They all chorused a "yes" and Halt was left looking like a very sour goose.

"Can we please continue with the story" Halt told the King. Duncan continued.

**He urged Abelard into a gallop, controlling the horse with his knees as his hands effortlessly**

**selected an arrow and nocked****it to the string of his massive longbow. Will scrambled into Tug's saddle and galloped after him. He****couldn't match Halt's hands****-free riding skill. He needed his right hand for the reins as he held his own bow ready in his left. **

"Don't worry it took me three years to manage it as well as Halt." Gilan told Will sympathetically.

"And you still can't do it as well as I can." Halt added smugly. _That did it _Pauline thought. Courier though she might be she had an excellent grasp of how to aim and her foot landed roughly on Halts shin. He gasped a little in pain but otherwise maintained an outward façade of calm. He was in trouble he knew.

**They were riding through sparse woodland, leaving it to the surefooted Ranger horses to pick the best route. Suddenly, they burst clear of the trees into a wide meadow. Abelard,****under his rider's urging, slid to a stop, Tug following suit beside****him. Dropping the reins to Tug's neck,****Will****instinctively reached for an arrow from his quiver and nocked it ready. A large fig tree grew in the middle of the cleared ground. At the base of it there was a small camp. A wisp of smoke still curled from the fireplace and a pack and blanket roll lay beside it. The four Wargals they had been tracking surrounded a single man, who had his back to the tree. For the moment his long sword held them at bay, but the Wargals were making small feinting movements toward him, trying to find an advantage. They were armed with short swords and axes and one carried a heavy iron spear. Will drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the creatures. After following their trail for so long, it was a shock to come upon them so suddenly in plain sight. Bearlike in build, they had long muzzles and massive yellow canine fangs, exposed now as they snarled at their prey. They were covered in shaggy fur and wore black leather armour. The man was dressed similarly and his voice cracked in fear as he repelled their tentative attacks. **

Everyone who hadn't seen the Wargals before took an intake of breath at the horrid way Will described them in the book. Alyss held Will's hand a little firmer so he looked up and squeezed her hand a little to help her.

"**Stand back! I'm on a mission for Lord Morgarath. Stand****back, I order you! I order you in Lord Morgarath's name!" **

"Who is that?" Baron Arald asked to no one in particular. "He is lying isn't he?"

Horace assessed the baron and saw he was way too excited for a middle aged man. He was practically jumping up and down in his seat.

**Halt nudged Abelard around, allowing him room to draw the arrow he had ready on the string.**

"**Drop your weapons! All of you!" he shouted. Five pairs of eyes swung toward him as the four **

**Wargals and their prey turned in surprise. The Wargal with the spear recovered first. Realizing that the swordsman was distracted, he darted forward and ran the spear into his body. A second****later, Halt's arrow buried itself in the Wargal's heart and he fell dead****beside his stricken prey. As****the swordsman sank to his knees, the other Wargals charged at the two Rangers. Shambling and bearlike as they might be, they covered ground with incredible speed.**

**Halt's second shot dropped the left****-hand Wargal. Will fired at the one on the right and realized****instantly that he had misjudged the brute's speed. The****arrow his****sed through the space where the Wargal had been a second before. His hand flew to his quiver for another arrow and he heard a****hoarse grunt of pain as Halt's third shot buried itself in the****chest of the middle creature. Then**

**Will loosed his second arrow at the surviving Wargal, now terrifyingly close. Panicked by those savage eyes and yellow fangs, he snatched as he released the arrow and knew it would fly wide.**

Will shook his head still convinced at his lack of ability. Alyss and Lady Pauline saw the movement.

"Will anyone would have been scared to face a Wargal that was so close you have nothing to worry about." Alyss crooned.

"You were also in your second year of apprenticeship, to stand your ground even when beasts are running towards you is a huge achievement." Lady Pauline added in a motherly fashion. Will felt his spirits soar at the two female's responses.

**As the Wargal snarled in triumph, Tug came****to his master's aid. The little horse reared and**

**lashed out with his front hooves at the horrific creature in front of him. Unexpectedly, he also danced forward a few steps, toward the threat, rather than retreating. Will, caught by surprise, clung to the pommel of the saddle.**

"I never doubted your horse's ability." Horace said while grinning.

**The Wargal was equally surprised. Like all its kind, it had a deep-seated instinctive fear of horses****—a fear born at the Battle of****Hackham Heath sixteen years ago, where Morgarath's first****Wargal army had been decimated by Araluen cavalry. It hesitated now for a fatal second, stepping back before those flashing hooves.****Halt's fourth arrow took it in the throat. At such short range, the arrow tore clean through. With a****final grunting shriek, the Wargal fell dead on the grass. White-faced, Will slid to the ground, his knees nearly giving way beneath him. He clung to****Tug's side to stay upright. Halt swung down quickly and moved to the boy's side. His arm went****around him.**

Everyone in the room smiled at Will and Halt while they both turned a bright shade of red at the unwanted attention from everyone.

"**It's all right, Will." His deep voice cut through the fear that****filled Will's mind. "It's over now."**

All the females in the room smiled even broader even Cassandra, who found sentimentality annoying.

**But Will shook his head, horrified by the rapid train of events.**

"**Halt, I missed…twice! I panicked and I missed!" He felt a deep****sense of shame that he had****let his teacher down so badly. Halt's arm tightened around him and he looked up at the bearded face****and the dark, deep-set eyes.****"There's a big difference between shooting at a****target and shooting at a charging Wargal. A target isn't usually trying to kill you." Halt added the last few words in a****more gentle tone. He****could see that Will was in shock. And no wonder, he thought grimly.**

Everyone agreed with Halt in the room while Cassandra and Horace were shaking their heads at Will's lack of self esteem.

"**But…I missed…"**

"**And next time you won't. Now you know****it's better to fire one good shot than****two hurried ones," Halt said firmly. Then he took Will's arm and turned him toward the campsite under the fig tree. "Let's see what we have here," he said, putting an end****to the subject.**

**The black-clad man and the Wargal lay dead beside one another. Halt knelt beside the man and turned him over, whistling softly in surprise.**

"**Dirk Reacher," he said, half to himself. "He's the last person****I****would have expected to see****here."**

"**You know him?" Will asked. His insatiable curiosity was already helping him to****put the horror ****of the previous few minutes to one side, as Halt had known it would. **

Will smiled at how easy it was for Halt to understand him.

"**I chased him out of the kingdom five or six years ago," the****Ranger told him. "He was a coward and a murderer. He deserted from the****army and found a place****with Morgarath." He paused. "Morgarath seems to specialize in recruiting people like him. But****what was he doing here…?"**

"**He said he was on a mission****for Morgarath," Will suggested, but Halt shook his head.**

"**Unlikely. The Wargals were chasing him and only Morgarath could have ordered them to do that, which he'd hardly do if Reacher really was working for him. My guess is that he was deserting again. He'd run out****on Morgarath and the Wargals were sent after him."**

"**Why?" Will asked. "Why desert?"**

**Halt shrugged. "There's a war coming. People like****Dirk try to avoid that sort of unpleasantness."**

**He reached for the pack that lay by the campfire and began to rummage through it.**

"**Are you looking for anything in particular?" Will asked. Halt frowned as****he grew tired of ****looking through the pack and dumped its contents onto the ground instead.**

"**Well, it strikes me that if he were deserting Morgarath and coming back to Araluen, he'd have to bring something to bargain for his freedom. So…" His voice****died away as he reached****for a****carefully folded parchment among the spare clothes and eating utensils. He scanned it quickly. One eyebrow rose slightly. After almost a year with the grizzled Ranger, Will knew that was the equivalent of a shout of astonishment. He also knew that if he interrupted Halt before he had finished reading, his mentor would simply ignore him. He waited until Halt folded the parchment, stood slowly and looked a**

**t his apprentice, seeing the question****in the boy's eyes.**

"**Is it important?" Will asked.**

"**Oh, you could say so," Halt told him.****"We appear to have stumbled on Morgarath's battle plans for the coming war. I think we'd****better get them back to Redmont."**

**He whistled softly and Abelard and Tug trotted to where their masters waited. From the trees several hundred meters away, carefully down-wind so that the Ranger horses would catch no scent of an intruder, unfriendly eyes were upon them. Their owner watched as the two Rangers rode away from the scene of the small battle. Then he turned south, toward the cliffs. It was time to report to Morgarath. His plan had been successful.**

Duncan whistled in astonishment at the last couple of lines. Everyone felt as shocked as he did. Finally Halt spoke.

"And this is why we should never overestimate the ability of our horses." Will and Gilan both looked at each other and felt the lesson stick with them.

"Right that's the first chapter finished. We ought to have a break." King Duncan ordered while grinning.


	3. Chapter 3

Burning bridge Chapter 3

**Sorry for taking a long time in updating life got in the way! But still here is the next chapter and I really appreciate all the reviews I have been getting. **

As soon as Duncan called for a break the serving maid as if on cue tottered through the door carrying a huge silver tray filled with varieties of refreshments piled on top of one another making Horace almost faint with giddiness who, restrained by Cassandra's arm stopped in time to see his mistake. The three rangers, who up until now were extremely exhausted from the long ride up to the castle with hardly any caffeine in their system, lunged at the poor woman who screamed in sheer terror and dropped the tray rather forcefully on the table, while running out of the room. The rangers took no notice of course and were busy wrestling with each other to get the shiny pot of brown liquid the three had come to love so much. The others in the room shook their heads at their vulnerability.

"As I said all you have to do is lure them in with a pot of coffee and probably all the rangers in the Kingdom would come along!" Cassandra said with much exuberance. The three rangers who were now all settled in their seats cried 'Aye' in unison and the rest of the room started laughing at the total devotion to the men's faces as they squeezed just the right amount of honey to make it taste perfect.

"Copycats." Halt grumbled from the corner of his mouth. Will looked up and smiled.

"We're only doing what we've been taught to do Halt, drinking coffee like this is part of our fate."

"Cut it out Will we're just full on addicted to the stuff." Gilan replied.

"I was trying to sound philosophical." Will said in an injured manner. Pauline smiled at the young man while helping herself to the food. She thought to herself again how men could want the strangest things.

"Alright everyone enough dilly daddle we've been going on for long enough." Duncan called out. Everyone took the last bits of food on the tray and waited for him to start reading but instead he gave the book to Cassandra who sat with a grin on her face. She had wondered the entire time what would happen with the secret messenger working for Morgorath and had practically wet herself with excitement. She read aloud now.

**IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT WHEN THE SINGLE RIDER REINED in his horse outside the small cottage set in the trees below Castle Redmont. The laden pack pony trailing behind the saddle horse ambled to a halt as well. The rider, a tall man who moved with the easy grace of youth, swung down from the saddle and stepped up onto the narrow verandah, stooping to avoid the low-lying eaves. **

"Oh goodness that's me!" Gilan exclaimed. He knew he must have been in the book but it still came as a shock to him and he blushed. Jenny who was sitting beside him slid her hand into his and smiled at him cheerfully.

"No you don't say." Baron Arald replied sarcastically. Everyone laughed at Gilan's foolishness at times and in the end he did too.

**From the lean-to stable at the side of the house came the sound of a gentle**

**nickering and his own horse's head****rose as he answered the greeting.**

**The rider had raised his fist to knock at the door when he saw a light come on behind the curtained windows. He hesitated. **

Gilan smiled knowingly at Halt who as ever kept his face blank. Will also smiled as he knew what was about to come next.

**The light moved across the room and, a second or so later, the door opened before him.**

"**Gilan," Halt said, without any note of surprise in his voice.****"What are you doing here?" **

"That's typical Halt for you." Duncan said while laughing.

"What would we do without his ever present knowledge?" Will chimed in. He burst into little fits of laughter while everyone else looked at him weirdly.

"Do everyone a favour and shut up Will." Halt said, his eyes twinkling dangerously. Will eventually stopped but continued hiccoughing a little.

**The young Ranger laugh****ed incredulously as he faced his former teacher. "How****do you do it, Halt?" he asked. "How could****you possibly know it was me arriving in the middle of the****night, before you'd even opened the door?" **

Everyone else laughed at that and Horace added.

"Because Halt is eight foot tall and kills boars with his bear hands." The chorus of laughter continued harder only Halt found this less amusing. Cassandra gave everyone a pained look and continued reading.

**Halt shrugged, gesturing for Gilan to enter the house. He closed the door behind him and moved to the neat little kitchen, opening the damping vent on the stove and sending new life flaring into the wood coals inside. He tossed a handful of kindling into the stove and set a copper kettle on the hot plate over the fire chamber, shaking it first to make sure there was plenty of water in it.**

"**I heard your horse some minutes ago," he****finally said. "Then, when I heard Abelard call****a greeting, I knew it had to be a Ranger horse." He shrugged again. Simple when****you explained it, the gesture said. Gilan laughed again in reply.**

"**Well, that narrowed it down to fifty people, didn't it?"****he said. Halt cocked his head****to one side****with a pitying look.**

"**Gilan, I must have heard you stumbling up that****front step a thousan****d times when you were****studying with me," he said. "Give me credit for recognizing****that sound once more."**

Halt shrugged again at the simplicity of what he did, while everyone else shook their heads at Halt's smug attitude.

**The younger Ranger spread his hands in a gesture of defeat. He unclasped his cloak and hung it over the back of a chair, moving a little closer to the stove. It was a chilly night and he watched Halt measuring coffee into a pot with some anticipation. The door to the rear room of the house opened and Will entered the small living room, his clothes pulled on hastily over his night shirt, his hair still tousled from sleep.**

"His hair is always tousled, whether it's from sleep or not." Alyss added. She smiled at Will adoringly while he winked back at her cheekily. This went unnoticed to everybody else.

"**Evening, Gilan," he said casually. "What brings you here?" **

"Oh no." Will groaned. He remembered that embarrassing time all too well and he did **not** want to revisit it again. Everyone else apart from Halt and Gilan looked puzzled at this. Gilan decided to help them out.

"You'll see Will do something funny."

**Gilan looked from one to the****other in something like despair. "Isn't anybody surprised when I turn up in the middle of the night?" he asked, of no one in particular. Halt, busy by****the stove,****turned away to hide a grin.****A few minutes earlier, he'd heard Will moving hurriedly to the window as the horses drew closer to the cottage. Obviously, his apprentice had overheard****Halt's**

**exchange with Gilan and was doing his best to emulate his own casual approach to the unexpected arrival. However, knowing Will as he did, Halt was sure that the boy was burning****with curiosity over the reason for Gilan's sudden appearance. He****decided he'd call his bluff. **

Everyone smiled at how curious Will was and how he tried to look cool while Will put his hands over his ears to escape the rest of it.

"**It's late, Will," he said. "You may as well go back to bed. We have****a busy day tomorrow."**

All the men smiled at Halt's bluff while Alyss called him a mean man. Halt grinned at her and told her she should have known that years ago.

**Instantly, Will's nonchalant expression was replaced by a stricken look. The****suggestion from his****master was tantamount to an order. All thought of appearing casual departed instantly.**

"**Oh, please, Halt!" the****boy exclaimed. "I want to know****what's going on!"**

**Halt and Gilan exchanged a quick grin. Will was actually hopping from one foot to another as he waited for Halt to rescind the suggestion that he should go to bed. The grizzled Ranger kept a straight face as he set three steaming mugs of coffee on the kitchen table.**

Everyone in the room burst into laughter as they could imagine Will's face while he Will groaned even more.

"**Just as well I made three cups then, isn't it?"****he said and Will realized that he'd been****having his****leg pulled. He shrugged, grinning, and sat down with his two seniors.**

"**Very well, Gilan, befor****e my apprentice explodes with curiosity, what is the reason for this****unexpected visit?"**

"Well that's rich I didn't exactly explode did I?" Will asked.

"You probably would have sooner or later." Horace replied jokingly.

"**Well, it has to do with those battle plans****you discovered last week. Now that we know what****Morgarath has in mind, the King wants the army ready on the Plains of Uthal before the dark of ****the next moon. That's when Morgarath plans to break out through Three Step Pass."**

**The captured document had told them a great deal. Morgarath's plan called for five hundred****Skandian mercenaries to make their way through the swamps of the fenlands and attack the****Araluen garrison at Three Step Pass. With the Pass undefended, Morgarath's main****army of ****Wargals would be able to break out and deploy into battle order on the Plains.**

"**So Duncan plans to beat him to****the punch," Halt said, nodding slowly. "Good thinking. That way we control the battlefield."**

**Will nodded in his turn and said****in an equally grave voice, "And we'll keep Morgarath's army bottled up in the Pass." ****Gilan turned slightly to hide a grin. He wondered if he had tried to copy Hal****t's mannerisms when****he was an apprentice, and decided that he probably had.**

"Every apprentice feels the need to do that, it's just the effect I have on people." Halt said. Will and Gilan shook their heads at his sneakiness.

"**On the contrary," he said, "once the****army's in place, Duncan plans to withdraw the****garrison, then fall back to prepared positions and let Morgarath out onto the Plains."**

"**Let him out?" Will's voice went up in pitch****with surprise. "Is the King crazy? Why would…"**

**He realized that both Rangers were looking at him, Halt with one eyebrow raised and Gilan with a quizzical smile playing at the corners of his mouth. **

"How dare you Will! You doubted my actions?" Duncan exclaimed with an injured tone. Everyone knew he was laying it on a little thick. Cassandra dragged her dad down who had stood up to make his pathetic confrontation.

"Really Dad I'm reading. You can do that stuff later."

"Oh sorry dear." Duncan said rather chastened.

"**I mean…" He hesitated,****not sure if questioning the King's sanity might constitute treason. "No offense or anything like that. It's just—"**

"**Oh, I'm sure the King wouldn't be offended****to hear that a lowly apprentice Ranger****thought he was crazy," said Halt. "Kings usually love to hear****that sort of thing."**

"Huh no offense. That's such a typical Will thing to say." Cassandra muttered. Will smirked at his own foolishness and at Halt telling him off. It had been a long time since that happened.

"**But Halt…to let him out, after all these years? It seems…" He was about to****say "crazy" again,****but thought better of it. He thought suddenly of his recent encounter with the Wargals. The idea of thousands of those vile beasts streaming unopposed out of the Pass made his blood run cold.**

"Trust me Will; they make my blood run cold too." The baron reassured him.

**It was Halt who answered first. "That's just the point, Will— ****after all these years.**

**We've spent sixteen years looking over our shoulders at Morgarath, wondering what he's up to. In that time, we've h****ad many of our forces tied up patrolling the base of the cliffs and keeping watch over****Three Step. And he's been****free to strike at us any time he likes. The****Kalkara were the latest example, as you know only too well."**

**Gilan glanced admiringly at his former teacher. Halt had instantly seen the reasoning behind the****King's plan. Not for the first time, he understood why Halt was one of the King's most respected****advisers.**

"Too true, too true." The king muttered. Everyone agreed with him.

"**Halt's right, Will," he said. "And there's another reason. After sixteen years of relativ****e peace, people are growing complacent. Not the Rangers, of course, but the village people who provide men-at-arms for our army, and even some of the barons and Battle masters in remote fiefs to the****North."**

"**You've seen for yourself how reluctant some people****are to leave their farms and go to****war,"****Halt put in. Will nodded. He and Halt had spent the past week travelling to outlying villages in Redmont Fief to raise the levies of men who would make up the bulk of the army. On more than one occasion, they had been met with outright hostility**** — ****hostility that melted away as Halt exerted the full force of his personality and reputation.**

"I think I have quite a nice personality." Halt said innocently.

"Of course you do dear." Pauline replied while shaking her head to the others. Everyone guffawed at Halt's shocked face after that.

"**As far as King Duncan is concerned,****now is the time to settle this," Gilan continued.****"We're as strong as we'll ever be and****any delay will only weaken us. This is the best opportunity we'll have to get rid of Morgarath once and for all."**

"**All of which still begs my original question," Halt said. "What brings you here in the****middle of the night?"**

"**Orders from Crowley," Gilan said crisply. He placed a written dispatch on the****table and Halt,****after an inquiring look at Gilan, unrolled it and read it. Crowley was the Commandant of the Rangers, Will knew, the most senior of all the fifty Rangers in the Corps. Halt read, then rolled the orders closed again.**

"**So you're taking dispatches to King Swyddned of the Celts," he said. "I assume you're invoking the mutual defence treaty that Duncan****signed with him some years ago?"****Gilan nodded, sipping appreciative****ly at the fragrant coffee. "The King feels we're going to****need all the troops we can muster."**

"Damn right he was about that." Arald muttered.

"Aye he was right by far." Horace responded.

**Halt nodded thoughtfully. "I can't fault his thinking there," he said softly. "But…?" He spread****his hands in a questioning gesture. If Gilan were taking dispatches to Celtica, the sooner he got on with it the better, the gesture seemed to say.**

"**Well," said Gilan, "it's an****official embassy to****Celtica.****" He laid a little stress on the last word****and suddenly Halt nodded his understanding. **

All the people in the room apart from the Rangers and Couriers emitted confused looks.

"Why would that affect you getting on with the mission?" Jenny asked Gilan.

"Read on darling, it's explained in the book." Gilan smiled.

"**Of course," he said. "The old****Celtic tradition."**

"**Superstition, more like it," Gilan answered, shaking his head. "It's a ridiculous waste of time as far as I'm concerned."**

"**Of course it is," Halt replied. "But the Celts insist on it, so what can****you do?"**

**Will looked from Halt to Gilan and back again. The two Rangers seemed to understand what they were talking about. To Will, they might as well have been speaking Espanard.**

"**It's all very well in normal times," Gilan said. "But with all these preparations for war, we're****stretched thin in****every area. We simply don't have the people****to spare. So Crowley thought…"**

"**I think I'm ahead of you," said Halt, and****finally, Will could bear it no longer.**

"**Well, I'm way behind you!" he burst out. "What on****earth are you two talking about?****You are****speaki****ng Araluen, aren't you, and not some****strange foreign tongue that just sounds like****it, but makes no sense at all?"**

"Wow Will not even I am that impatient." Horace said shocked.

"Well they were being very close mouthed what did you expect me to do?" Will asked.

"Still a little on the loud side aren't we?" Halt asked mildly.

"Shut up." Will replied in turn.

"Well on the note of Will's over eagerness this chapter is finished." Cassandra said while closing the book and noting the number.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alyss had her hand outstretched to read. She had found this story particularly interesting and she wanted to know more about what happened in her husband's life.

"Well I guess we should read on and see whether Will decides to knock over table in his frustration." Alyss said.

"Enough with the impatient jokes already." Will complained.

"Mate no one's going to let that live down." Horace said while chuckling, after which Will very purposely shoved a pillow up his buttocks.

"Right that's enough." Halt ordered. "You boys need to learn to grow up." He said bluntly. Horace stopped in mid action as he was about to retaliate to Will.

"How about we get on with the book?" Jenny asked curtly.

"Alright Alyss it's your turn." Duncan announced. Alyss smiled, then sitting up straighter started flowing the words out of her mouth in a beautiful voice narrating the next chapter.

**HALT TURNED SLOWLY TO FACE HIS IMPULSIVE YOUNG APPRENTICE, and raised his eyebrows at the outburst. Will, subsiding, muttered, "Sorry, Halt," and the older Ranger nodded.**

"O.K maybe I was a little over the top with my eagerness." Will admitted sheepishly.

"A little?" Horace said.

"Over the top?" Gilan exclaimed.

"Eagerness?" Cassandra snorted.

"Alright, alright it was terrible. Forgive me for being a little moderate." Will replied flustered at being bombarded like that.

"Now if you're little girly chatting has finished could we please move on with the story." Halt drawled.

"**I should think so. It's more than obvious that Gilan is asking if I'll release you to accompany him to Celtica."**

**Gilan nodded confirmation of the fact and Will frowned, puzzled by the sudden turn of events.**

"**Me?" he said incredulously. "Why me? What can ****I do in Celtica?" **

Here you go doubting yourself again." Pauline shook her head. Will still didn't completely believe in the trust she was putting in his ability but nonetheless he accepted her remark and wisely said nothing in turn.

"He should doubt himself." Halt added rudely. Pauline gave him one of her very stern looks she had been practising in the mirror for ages and he was quickly subdued.

**The moment the words had left his mouth, he regretted them. He should have learned by now never to give Halt that sort of opening. Halt pursed his lips as he considered the question.**

"**Ask interminable questi****ons, interrupt your betters and forget to do your chores, I suppose. The ****real question is, Can you be spared ****from duty here? And the answer to ****that is 'Definitely.'"**

"Well Will, I certainly have much sympathy for you." Baron Arald said kindly while giving Halt an almost evil glare. Even Duncan felt a little sorry for the poor lad who had been put under Halt's constant torment.

"It's called tough love. Get over it." Halt snarled.

"**Then why…" Will gave up. They would either ****explain or they wouldn't. And no ****amount of ****asking would make Halt deliver that explanation a second sooner than he chose to. In fact, he was beginning to think that the more questions he asked, the more Halt actually enjoyed keeping him dangling. It was Gilan who took pity on him, perhaps remembering how closemouthed Halt could be when he chose.**

"Oh I remember all the times when Halt used to be closemouthed with me." Gilan sighed. Halt turned around quickly to pretend to cough but secretly he was hiding a smile that was lurking on the corner of his lips.

"**I need you to make up ****the numbers, Will," he said. "Tradition****-ally, the Celts insist that an ****official embassy be made up of three people. And to be honest, Halt's right. You're one who can ****be spared from the m****ain effort here in Araluen." He ****grinned a little ruefully. "If it makes you feel any better, I've been given the ****mission because I'm the most junior Ranger in the Corps."**

"Yeah it did make me feel better Gil thanks." Will said gratefully.

"Aah don't mention it." He replied smoothly. He knew his kind words to Will would impress Jenny and so it had. She smiled up at him sweetly and squeezed his hand in a loving way.

"**But why three people?" Will asked, seeing that Gilan ****at least seemed disposed to answer ****questions. "Can't one deliver the message?" **

"Finally someone is asking the question to which I want to know the answer of." Jenny said exhausted. Even the King hadn't a slightest clue as to the Celtic superstition however he did not let that fact be known.

**Gilan sighed. "As we were saying, it's a superstition among the Celts. ****It goes back to the old ****days of the Celtic Council, when the Celts, the Scotti and the Hibernians were one alliance. They were ruled then**** by a triumvirate."**

"Well we know that, that's fairly obvious isn't it?" Horace asked. He was returned with both Alyss and Gilan's stares that said _don't push it there's more to come. _Horace shook his head in apology and Alyss continued.

"**The point is," Halt interrupted, "of course Gilan can take ****the message to them. But if he's ****a sole messenger, they'll keep him waiting and fob him off for days, or even weeks, while they dither over form and protocol. And we don't have ****that sort of time to waste. There's an old Celtic ****saying that covers it: One man may be deceit. Two can be conspiracy. Three is the number I trust.****"**

"That's ridiculous! We can't run a country if fiefs are like that." Duncan exclaimed.

"Well of course we can't. But you already know this so why is it so much of a shock to you?" Pauline asked sweetly.

"Oh well of course. I mean I know all this it's just…"

"Save it Dad your bluff isn't working." Cassandra told him straightforwardly.

"**So you're sending me because you can do ****without me?" Will said, somewhat insulted by the ****thought.**

Everyone in the room laughed while also having a bit of sympathy for him.

"I can definitely do without you and your endless questions." Halt retorted. Pauline gave him another quick kick and he winced, starting to feel the beginning of a bruise.

**Halt decided that it was time to massage Will's young ego ****a little—but only a little. "Well, we can, as a matter of fact. But you can't send just anyone on these ****embassies. The three members ****have to have some sort of official status or position in the world. They ****can't be simple men****-at-****arms, for example."**

"**And you, Will," Gilan added, "are a member ****of the Ranger Corps. That will carry a ****certain amount of weight with the Celts."**

"**I'm only an apprentice," Will said, and was surprised when both ****men shook their heads ****in ****disagreement.**

"Low self esteem _again_" Cassandra said to Will.

"Sorry I couldn't help the way I felt at the time." Will said in apology.

"**You wear the oak leaf,"****Halt told him firmly. "Bronze or silver, it doesn't matter. You're one of us."**

**Will brightened visibly at his teacher's statement. "Well," he said, "when you put it ****like that, I'd be delighted to join you, Gilan."**

**Halt regarded him dryly. It was obviously time for the ego-stroking to end, he thought. Deliberately, he turned to Gilan.**

"**So," he said, "can you think of ****anyone else who's totally unnecessary to be the third member?"**

"Well that was extremely kind of you wasn't it?" Baron Arald asked sarcastically. It wasn't the first time he had doubted Halt's mentoring skills.

"That's the way I am." He said simply.

**Gilan shrugged, smiling as he saw Will ****subside. "That's the other reason Crowley sent me here," he said. "Since Redmont is one of the larger fiefs, he thought you might be ****able to spare someone else from here. Any suggestions?"**

**Halt rubbed his chin thoughtfully, an idea forming. "I think we might have just the person you need," he said. He turned to Will. "Perhaps you'd better get some sleep. I'll give Gilan a hand with the horses and then we'll go up to the castle."**

"This is where I come in the story isn't it?" Horace asked impatiently.

"All in good time Horace. All in good time." Alyss replied while keeping a straight face.

**Will nodded. Now that Halt mentioned sleep, he felt an irresistible urge to yawn. He rose and headed for his small room.**

"**See you in the morning, Gilan."**

"**Bright and early." Gilan smiled, and Will rolled his eyes in mock horror.**

"**I knew you'd say that," he replied.**

The girls in the room smiled at the small byplay between Gilan and Will.

**Halt and Gilan bedded the two horses down and strolled through the fields toward Castle**

**Redmont in companionable silence. Gilan, attuned ****to his old teacher's ways, sensed that Halt had ****something he wanted to discuss, and before too long, the older Ranger broke the silence.**

"**This embassy to Celtica could be just what Will ****needs," he said. "I'm a little worried about him."**

After hearing this many of the listeners straightened a little to hear what was going on better. Will felt a sense of shame swell up in him. He knew he had let Halt down. That's why they were talking about him. Halt, noticing Will's body language caught his eye and gently shook his head showing that, that was not what he meant.

**Gilan frowned. He liked the irrepressible young apprentice. "What's the problem?" he asked.**

"**He had a bad time of ****it when we ran into those ****Wargals last week," Halt said. "He thinks he" lost his nerve."**

"**And has he?"**

**Halt shook his head decisively. "Of course not. He's got more ****courage than most grown men. But when the Wargals charged us, he rushed his shot and missed."**

**Gilan shrugged. "No shame in that,****is there? After all, he's not yet sixteen. He didn'****t run, I take ****it?"**

"**No. Not at all. He stood his ground. Even got another shot away. Then Tug took a hand and backed the Wargal off so ****I could finish it. He's a good horse, that one."**

"**He has a good master," Gilan said, and Halt nodded.**

Will felt the shame go out of him and smiled at Halt and Gilan who both groaned.

"Remember Will, it never does good to boast." Horace told him.

"I know, I know it's just. Couldn't you have told me this in front of me?" This question he directed at Halt.

"Obviously not." He said crisply. Will sighed and Alyss stroked his hair a little before reading.

"**That's true. Still****, I think a few weeks away from all of these war preparations will be good for ****the boy. It might get his mind off his troubles if he spends some time with you and Horace."**

"**Horace?" Gilan asked.**

"**He's the third member I'm suggesting. One of the Battleschoo****l apprentices and a friend of ****Will's." Halt thought for a few moments, then nodded ****to himself. "Yes. A few weeks with ****people closer to his own age will do him good. After all, folk do say I can be a little grim from ****time to time."**

Everyone laughed at this then laughed harder when they heard Gilan's reply.

"**You, Halt? Grim? Who could say such a ****thing?" Gilan said. Halt glanced at ****him suspiciously.**

**Gilan was, all too obviously, just managing to keep a straight face.**

"Nice one Gil!" Will high fived him.

"I know. I can be very witty when I want to be."

**You know, Gilan," he said,****"sarcasm isn't the lowest form of wit. It's not even wit at all."**

"My point exactly." Halt told Gilan. Everyone in the room made ooooooooooo sounds at the reply Halt made and Gilan was left looking stunned.

**Even though it was afte****r midnight, the lights were still burning in Baron Arald's office when Halt and Gilan reached the castle. The Baron and Sir Rodney, Redmont's Battlemaster, had a ****lot ****of planning to do, preparing for the march to the Plains of Uthal, where they would join the rest ****of the kingdom's army. When Halt explained ****Gilan's need, Sir Rodney was quick to see where the Ranger's thinking was headed.**

"He was always quick and logical." Arald mused.

"Always got to the point." Horace added.

"**Horace?" he said to Halt.**

**The small, bearded Ranger nodded almost imperceptibly.**

"**Yes, it's not a bad idea at ****all," the Ba****ttlemaster continued, pacing the room as he thought it ****over. "He has the sort of status you need ****for the task—he's a Battleschool member, even if he is only a trainee. We can spare him ****from the force leaving here at the ****end of the week ****and…"**

**At this he paused and looked meaningfully at Gilan. "You might even find ****he's a useful person to have along."**

"Well that he is." Gilan and Will said at the same time. Horace flushed a little but said nothing in reply to their kind words which were rarely expressed. Everyone in the room knew the skill Horace had as a warrior and they admired it greatly though Horace was oblivious.

**The younger Ranger looked ****at him curiously and Sir Rodney elaborated: "He's one of my best ****trainees**** —a real natural with a sword. He's already bett****er than most members of the Battleschool. But he does tend to be a bit formal and inflexible in his approach to life. Perhaps an assignment ****with two undisciplined Rangers might teach him to ****loosen up a little."**

"Wow you were informal?" Cassandra asked him.

"Yeah I was a bit." Horace said sheepishly.

"Well now you've learnt to loosen up haven't you?" Jenny asked with a smile on her face.

"I have indeed Jenny. You know I'm not even scared of Rangers anymore." Horace replied. At this all three ranger's heads shot up and the green and grey vultures eyed him with distaste. "O.K I am scared of ranger's when I need to be." Horace added. The ranger's relaxed and Alyss laughed at Horace breathing in and out heavily.

**He smiled briefly to show that he meant no offense by the joke, then glanced at the sword Gilan ****wore at his hip. It was an ****unusual weapon for a Ranger.****"You're the one who studied with MacNeil, is that right?"**

**Gilan nodded. "The Sword master. Yes, that was me."**

"**Hmmm," muttered Sir Rodney, regarding the tall young Ranger ****with new interest. "Well, you might see your way clear to giving Horace a ****few pointers while you're on the road. I'd take it as a favour and you'll find he's a quick ****learner."**

"**I'd be glad to," Gilan replied. He thought that he'd like to see this apprentice warrior. He knew from his time at Redmont as Halt's apprentice that Sir Rodney wasn't given to overstating praise for any of the students in the Battleschool.**

"That's true." Horace said from personal experience.

"I'm glad you were on the journey Horace you learned a lot from me." Gilan said to him.

"Don't ever let Rodney hear you say that." Arald said warningly.

"**Well, that's settled then," Baron Arald said, anxious to get back to plann****ing the thousand and ****one details of the march to ****Uthal. "What time will you be leaving, Gilan?"**

"**As soon after sunup as I can, sir," Gilan ****replied.**

"**I'll have Horace report to you before first light," Rodney told him and Gilan nodded, sensing ****that the meet****ing was over. The Baron's next ****words confirmed it for him.**

"**Now, if you two will excuse us, we'll get back ****to the relatively simple business of planning a war," he said.**

"Well it wasn't easy believe me." Arald muttered.

"Right that's the chapter finished I think we should come back a couple of hours later." Alyss suggested. Everyone else had agreed readily at the suggestion as the thoughts of stretching out from the stiff chairs were too irresistible to refuse.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After a delicious lunch consisting of varieties of roast meat dripping in oil and fat and steamy green vegetables poured over with thick brown sauce, the Araluans made their way back towards the conference room which was being used for important reading.

"Right who wants to read the next chapter?" Alyss asked. Many of the listeners were surprised when Halt volunteered to read next. Secretly he only offered because he knew he wasn't to be mentioned in this chapter, the book was based on Will's life after all.

"Alright then, well that's sorted carry on with the story Halt." Baron Arald exclaimed. The second surprise for the rest of the listeners was hearing the smooth voice that emanated out of Halt's throat. It was by no means amazing but it was a change from the regular gruff tone the grizzled ranger usually spoke in.

**THE SKY WAS HEAVY WITH SULLEN RAIN CLOUDS. SOMEWHERE the sun may have been rising, but here there was no sign of it, just a dull gray light that filtered through the overcast and gradually, reluctantly, filled the sky. As the little party crested the last ridge, leaving the massive shape of Castle Redmont behind them, the new day finally gave in to the clouds and it began to rain**** — ****a cold spring rain. It was ****light and misting, but persistent. At first, it ran off the riders treated woollen cloaks. But, ****eventually, it began to soak into the fibers. After twenty minutes or so, all three were hunched in their saddles, trying to retain as much body warmth as they could. **

"And this is why I hate long journeys." Jenny said triumphantly.

"Jenny, when have you ever had to make a long journey before?" Will asked.

"Never and I don't intend to start either." She said with much exuberance. Halt shook his head at their pointless banter and continued reading.

**Gilan turned to his two companions as they plodded along, eyes down, hunched over their ****horses' necks. He smiled to himself, then addressed Horace, who ****was keeping a position slightly ****to the rear, alongside the pack pony Gilan was leading. **

"Why were you behind Gilan? Why didn't you ride along side them?" Cassandra asked with a little annoyance. Horace so far seemed nothing like the Horace she knew him to be when he was based at castle Araluan and his deference to rangers was making her feel bad as she usually mocked and taunted the Rangers as a joke.

"As I said before Cass, I was a little bit formal back then." He replied while asking himself internally how he managed to be best friends with the people of whom he used to be scared of.

"**Well then, Horace," he said, "are we giving you enough adventure for the moment?" ****Horace wiped the misting rain from his face, and grimaced ruefully.**

"**Less than I'd expected, sir," he replied.****"But it's still better than close-order drill."**

All the knights in the room chuckled at that. They knew after many years of experience how painful those drills were but they also knew if it weren't for the practise they would never be where they were today.

**Gilan nodded and grinned at him.**

"**I imagine it is at that," he said. Then ****he added kindly: "There's no need ****to ride back there,****you know. We Rangers don't stand on ceremony too much. Come and join us."**

Nearly everyone smiled at Gilan's radiating friendliness and Halt gave him a quick nod which was equivalent to him giving Gilan a good pat on the back.

"Thanks Gilan I really did need that you know." Horace said.

"Don't mention it; I felt the same about rangers as well." Gilan smiled back.

**He nudged Blaze with his knee and the bay mare stepped out to open a gap for him. Horace eagerly urged his horse forward, to ride level with the two Rangers.**

"**Thank you, sir," he said gratefully. Gilan cocked ****an eyebrow at Will.**

"**Polite, isn't he?" he mused. "Ob****viously manners are well taught in the Battleschool these days.**** Nice to be called 'sir' all the time."**

**Will grinned at the kindly meant jibe. Then the smile faded from his face as Gilan continued thoughtfully.**

"**Not a bad idea to have a bit of respect shown. Perhaps you could call me 'sir' as well," he said, turning his face away to study the tree line to ****one side so that Will couldn't see the ****faint trace of ****a grin that insisted on breaking through.**

Everyone laughed after Halt read Gilan's lines as they waited to see how Will would react.

"Well this should be interesting." Cassandra said while laughing. She knew Will too well and couldn't wait to hear his reaction to the jibe.

"Trust me it was interesting but also embarrassing." Will replied.

"Yes it was, I recall that you were almost choking from the shock." Horace teased. Another pillow was tossed across the room at him from Alyss.

"Leave my husband alone I want to hear what he said." She called out.

**Aghast, Will choked over his answer. He couldn't****believe hi****s ears.**

"**Sir?" he said finally. "You really want me to call you 'sir', Gilan?" Then, as ****Gilan frowned slightly at him, he amended hurriedly and in ****great confusion: "I mean, sir! You want me to call you 'sir'…sir?"**

**Gilan shook his head. "No.****I don't think**** '****Sir-****Sir' is suitable. Nor 'Sir Gilan.' I think just the one 'sir' would do nicely, don't you?"**

Everyone laughed at Will's foolishness even Halt's lips were turned up at the corners. Though no one laughed as hard as Will who was almost crying.

"It's not that funny Will." Arald said while Will had to control his breathing.

"Sir, once I heard how foolish I was during my teen years you'll realise how stupid I sounded then." He said while wiping the moisture from his eyes.

**Will couldn't think of a polite way of phrasing what was ****in his mind, and gestured helplessly ****with his hands. Gilan continued.**

"**After all, it'll do nicely to keep us all remembering who's in ****charge of this party, won't it?"**

**Finally, Will found his voice. "Well, I suppose it will, Gil…I mean, sir." He shook his head,****surprised at this sudden demand for formality from his friend. He rode in silence for a few minutes, then heard an explosive sneezing sound from beside him as Horace tried, unsuccessfully, to smother his giggling. Will glared at him, then turned suspiciously to Gilan.**

"The book is right though you do sound as if you're sneezing when you laugh." Cassandra said while Horace blushed.

"Yeah you do, remember castle Macindaw?" Will winked at him as Horace laughed at their inside joke. He remembered all too clearly the effort of trying not to sneeze and the bruises that came after it. Everyone else had puzzled looks on their faces.

"Let's read on with the story." Pauline veered the topic. She wanted to hear her husbands soft voice again.

**The young Ranger was grinning all over his face as he eyed the apprentice. He shook his head in mock sorrow.**

"**Joking, Will. Joking."**

**Will realized his leg was being pulled again, and this time with Horace's full knowledge.**

"**I knew that," he replied huffily. Horace laughed ****out loud and this time, ****Gilan joined in.**

"Oh poor Will and his young little ego." Duncan said while everyone burst into fits of laughter, including Will.

**They travelled south all day, finally making camp in the first line of foothills on the road to Celtica. Around mid afternoon, the rain had slowly begun to peter out, but the ground around them was still sodden.**

**They searched under the thickest-foliaged trees for dry, dead wood, and gradually collected enough for a small campfire. Gilan joined in with the two apprentices, sharing the work among the three of them, and they ate their meal in an atmosphere of friendship and shared experience.**

Halt looked at the three younger men before him and felt slightly sad knowing that sooner or later he would have to retire his silver oakleaf for a gold one.

**Horace, however, was still a little in awe of the tall young Ranger. Will eventually realized that, ****by teasing him, Gilan was doing his best to ****set Horace at ease, making sure ****that he didn't feel left out. Will found himself warming to Halt's former apprentice even more than before. He ****reflected thoughtfully that he still had a lot to learn about managing people. **

"You have a lot to learn about managing people? You must be joking Will! You're one of the bubbliest people I know, you don't need to learn to manage people it comes naturally." Baron Arald scoffed. Will flushed at the praise from the baron.

"Really I didn't get much of a chance to mingle with people; I was kind of stuck with Halt for 6 years." Will laughed. Everyone knew Will was talking about Halt's natural tendency to be silent and Halt scowled at his former apprentice realising how cheeky he had become.

**He knew that he faced ****at least another four years' training before he finished his apprenticeship. Then, he supposed, he'd ****be expected to carry out ****clandestine missions, gather intelli****gence about ****the kingdom's enemies and perhaps lead elements of the army, just as Halt did. The thought that ****one day he would have to depend on his own wits and skill was a daunting one.**

"Well you seem to be doing just fine on your own." Halt said to Will. He went crimson and felt his chest swelling up at the first piece of praise he had heard from Halt.

**He sighed. Sometimes, it seemed that life was determined to be confusing. Less than a year ago,**

**he had been a nameless, unknown orphan in Castle Redmont's Ward. Since then, he had begun ****to learn the skills of a Ranger, and basked in the admiration and praise of everyone at Redmont Fief when he had helped the Baron, Sir Rodney and Halt defeat the terrifying beasts known as the Kalkara. He glanced across at Horace, the childhood enemy who had become his friend, and wondered if he felt the same bewildering conflict of emotions. The memory of their days in the Ward together reminded him of his other friends**** — ****George, Jenny and Alyss, now apprenticed to their ****own Craft masters. He wished he'd had time to say good****-bye to them before leaving for Celtica. Particularly Alyss. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought of her. Alyss had kissed him after his homecoming dinner at the inn and he still remembered the soft touch of her lips. Yes, he thought, particularly Alyss.**

"WAIT WHAT! When did this happen?" Cassandra exclaimed. She knew Will and Alyss loved each other but she never knew they had their first kiss at fifteen. Everyone else seemed to be sniggering as Alyss sat tall and proud while Will covered himself behind her curtain of blonde hair. Everyone but Jenny was surprised. She knew what had happened that night as Alyss had come to her room to tell her in excitement.

**Across the campfire, Gilan observed Will through half-****closed eyes. It wasn't easy being Halt's ****apprentice, he knew. Halt was a near-legendary figure and that laid a heavy burden on anyone apprenticed to him. There was a lot to live up to. He decided that Will needed a little distraction.**

Even though Halt would never tell Will, he knew that his son had the potential to be so much greater than him as a Ranger and he felt proud as he remembered all of his achievements.

"**Right!" he said, springing lithely to his feet. "Lessons!"**

**Will and Horace looked at each other.**

"**Lessons?" said Will, in a pleading tone of voice. ****After a day in the saddle, he ****was hoping more ****for his bedroll.**

"Ha no such luck there!" Gilan told Will while elbowing him in the ribs.

"You weren't even the one who had to take the lessons Will, it was me!" Horace proclaimed.

**Sorry I didn't finish the chapter but this one was particularly long and I hadn't updated in a while so I decided to half instead then the other half later. Please review and tell me whether I should improve on anything or what you thought of it altogether.**


	6. Chapter 5 continued

"Yeah but it was tiring to watch." Will replied.

"Well it was more tiring to _do"_ Horace said.

"Will you two stop it seriously I am trying to read." Halt grumbled.

"And since when did you take joy in reading Halt?" Gilan asked.

"I don't, that's why I want to finish this chapter as soon as possible." He retorted. He looked down at the book and continued reading.

"**That's right," Gilan said cheerfully. "Even though we're on a mission, it's up****to me to keep up the instruction for you two."**

"Only Gilan could say something like this cheerfully." Horace said while shaking his head.

"That's me for you." Gilan smiled while pretending to be overeager.

**Now it ****was Horace's turn to be puzzled.****"For me?" he asked. "Why should I be taught any Ranger skills?"**

"Look I didn't realise Gilan was the one who studied with MacNeil alright." Horace asked in a defensive manner.

"We didn't say anything Horace." Alyss said while smiling.

"Well I could tell you were going to." He replied.

**Gilan picked up his sword and scabbard from where they lay beside his saddle. He withdrew the slender, shining blade from its plain leather receptacle. There was a faint hiss as it came free and the blade seemed to dance in the shifting firelight.**

Jenny shuddered inwardly at the thought of seeing the sword. She was the sort of person that only used violence when absolutely necessary and no other time. Only the Rangers in the room noticed her intake of breath but made no comment on it.

"**Not Ranger skills, my boy. Combat skills. Heaven knows, we'll need them as sharp as possible before too long. There's a war coming, you know." He regarded the heavyse****t boy before him ****with a critical eye. "Now, let's see what you know ****about that toothpick you're wearing."**

"Toothpick? Really? You think Horace's broad sword is like a toothpick?" Arald was stunned.

"With all due respect sir I was being sarcastic." Gilan said, not wanting to embarrass the Baron.

"Oh yes of course, I knew that." He said trying to cover his mistake. Halt continued reading.

"**Oh, right!" said Horace, sounding a little more pleased about this turn of events. He never minded a little sword practice and he ****knew it wasn't a Ranger's skill.**

"It might not be every Ranger's skill but it is Gilan's" Lady Pauline commented.

"Yup I learned that the hard way." Horace sighed.

"Really what happened did you embarrass yourself?" Cassandra asked curious. Horace looked side long at her and thought that she seemed too pleased with the idea of his embarrassment but said nothing.

"No he tried to kill me I suppose." Gilan answered. There was a gasp from the majority of the Araluan's in the room.

"Oh yeah put it like that why don't you? I didn't try to kill him he asked me to." Horace went on defensive mode again.

**He drew his own sword ****confidently and stood before Gilan, point politely lowered to the ground. Gilan stuck his own sword point-****first into the soft earth, and held out his hand for Horace's.**

"**May I see that, please?" he asked. Horace nodded a****nd handed it to Gilan hilt-first. Gilan hefted it, tossed it lightly, then swung it experimentally a few times.**

"**See this, Will? This is what you look for in a sword."**

"Huh I still don't get what you were trying to show me Gil, I prefer my saxe knife." Will said shaking his head.

"Oh dear what a waste of my expert teaching then. You really need to pay more attention young Will." Gilan replied.

**Will looked at the sword, unimpressed. It looked plain to him. The blade was slightly blued steel, simple and straight. The hilt was leather wrapped around the steel tang and the crosspiece was a chunky piece of brass. He shrugged.**

The knights all looked at Will and shook their heads, ashamed.

"That is a very fine sword you can tell from the description." Duncan said trying to explain to Will.

"Sorry sir but I will never understand how a plain sword can hold so much attraction."

"Let's just continue with the story." Cassandra said quickly as she saw her dad about to speak.

"**It doesn't look special," he said apologetically, not wanting to hurt Horace's feelings.**

"**It's not how they look that counts," said Gilan. "It's how they feel. This one, for example. It's ****well balanced, so you can swing it all day without getting overtired, and the blade is light but ****strong. I've seen blades twice this thick snapped in half by a good blow ****from a cu****dgel. Fancy ****ones too," he added,****with a smile, "with engravings and inlays and jewels."**

"Now I remember." Will sighed contently. Gilan shook his head.

"How on earth could you forget a conversation with me?" He asked with a hurt face.

"It happens all the time Gil, you're not that memorable after all." Gilan threw a pillow at Will and declared that after this book was finished there would be a massive pillow fight.

"This is the man I love." Jenny sighed to herself while hiding a smile.

"**Sir Rodney says jewels in the hilt are just unnecessary weight," said Horace. Gilan nodded ****agreement.**

"**What's more, they tend to encourage people to attack you and rob you," he said. Then, all business again, he returned Horace's sword and took up his own.**

"**Very well, Horace, we've seen that the sword is good ****quality. Let's see about its owner."**

"Well the owner is much better than the sword everyone knows that." Halt commented.

"Wow Halt actually said something nice for once." Cassandra joked.

"I'm not heartless you know." Halt said injured. No one except Pauline and Will properly knew how kind he _could _be if he chose. Horace had blushed at Halt's comment as like all of the younger people in the room he sought Halt's approval first.

**Horace hesitated, not sure what Gilan intended.**

"**Sir?" he ****said awkwardly.**

**Gilan gestured to himself with his left hand. "Attack me," he said cheerfully. "Have a swing. Take a whack. Lop my head off."**

Everyone burst out laughing at Gilan's care free manner of talking about his death. Jenny looked at him and pouted.

"Why do you seem to have a death wish?" She was more than upset and if she found herself in a world without Gilan she didn't know what she would do.

"Don't worry sweet heart I don't have a death wish I love you too much to have one."

"Good because if you did then I would kill you first."

"But if you killed me then you would miss me."

"Oh, shut up" Jenny grumbled. Everyone smiled at her and Gilan and thought about what a cute couple they made.

**Still Horace stood uncertainly. Gilan's sword wasn't in the guard position. He held it negligently ****in his right hand, the point downward. Horace made a helpless gesture.**

"What, were you afraid of chopping his head off?" Halt asked innocently.

"No, not really I just didn't want him to die that's all." Horace said.

"I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have died Horace, he was trained by MacNeil at the time." Arald said to Horace who was shaking his head.

"Yes but I didn't know that at the time sir."

"**Come on, Horace," Gilan said.****"Let's not wait all night. Let's see what you can do."**

**Horace put his own sword point-first into the earth.**

"**But you see, sir, I'm a trained warrior," he said. Gilan ****th****ought about this and nodded.**

"After one year of apprenticeship and you already think of yourself as a trained warrior." Duncan jibed. Horace smiled back and his cheeks went aflame at his stupidity.

"**True," he said. "But you've been training for less than a year. I shouldn't think you'll chop too much off me."**

**Horace looked to Will for support. Will could only shrug. He assumed that Gilan knew what he was doing. But he had****n't known him long, and he'd never seen him so much as draw his sword, ****let alone practice with it. Gilan shook his head in mock despair.**

"**Come on, Horace," he said. "I do have a vague idea what this is all about."**

**Reluctantly, Horace swung a half hearted blow at Gilan. Obviously, he was worried that, if he ****should penetrate the Ranger's guard, he was not sufficiently experienced to pull the blow and avoid injuring him. Gilan didn't even raise his sword ****to protect himself. Instead, he swayed ****easily to one side ****and Horace's blade passed harmlessly clear of him.**

"You know your lack of belief in my ability really was insulting." Gilan said.

"Forgive me for trying to be careful Gilan really you can't blame me for that." Horace pointed out.

"And he didn't know you were a swordsman." Alyss helped him. She thought he was being attacked by everyone from everywhere and needed a little help. He smiled at her in gratitude.

"**Come on!" he said. "Do it as if ****you mean it!"**

**Horace took a deep breath and swung a full-blooded roundhouse stroke at Gilan. It was like poetry Will thought. Like dancing. Like the movement of running water over smooth ****rocks.**

"Well I didn't know you were one for poetic language Will." Arald looked at the young man admiringly. In truth the baron had tried to use poetic language for a while though he never managed to use it properly and in the end Sandra, his lovely wife forced him to stop otherwise she threatened she would kick him out of their chamber.

"Yes how come you never told me you could use language like that?" Alyss asked shocked. This was the first time she had seen this type of nature in Will and she wondered if there were any other secrets in the book he was hiding from her.

"Well honey, you never told me you liked that type of language. If you did then I would have used it everyday." He said trying to flatter her and succeeding.

**Gilan's sword, seemingly propelled only by his fingers and wrist, swung in a flashing arc to intercept Horace's blow. There was a ring of steel and Horace stopped, surprised. The parry ****had jarred his hand through to the elbow. Gilan raised his eyebrows at him.**

"**That's better," he said. "Try again."**

"How is that even possible? You should have died by then." Cassandra was on the verge of shock.

"Well I did have a bit of practise before asking him to try and kill me." Gilan smiled.

"No do you know what? I honestly think you were trying to kill yourself." Jenny added.

"No darling I told you it's part of the training." Gilan sighed in relief as Jenny huffed and blew hair from her face.

**And Horace did. Backhands, overhead cuts, round arm swings.**

**Each time, Gilan's sword flicked into position to block the ****stroke with a resounding clash. As**** t****hey continued, Horace swung harder and faster. Sweat broke out on his forehead and soon his shirt was soaked. Now he had no thought of trying not to hurt Gilan. He cut and slashed freely, trying to break through that impenetrable defence.**

"Finally you were hitting well." Gilan cried.

"Excuse me when do I not hit well?." Horace asked hurt.

"Well at the beginning you didn't." He replied. Cassandra scrunched up her nose in a look of disgust when she heard how his shirt was soaked in sweat.

**Finally, as Horace's breath was coming in ragged ****gasps, Gilan changed from the blocking ****movement that had been ****so effective against Horace's strongest blows. His sword clashed against Horace's, then whipped around in ****a small, circular motion so that his blade ****was on top.****Then, with a slithering clash, he ****ran his blade down ****Horace's, forcing the apprentice's sword ****point down to the ground. As the point touched the damp earth, Gilan swiftly put one booted foot on it to hold it there.**

"**Right, that'll do," he said calmly. **

"Wow you don't even look flustered or bothered" Baron Arald exclaimed.

"Well he probably learnt that from me." Halt said unconcerned. Though inside he was extremely impressed with Gilan's skill and technique. He knew one tiny slip up and he could have been dead.

**Yet his eyes were riveted on ****Horace's****, making sure the boy knew that the practice session was over. Sometimes, Gilan knew, in the heat of the moment, the losing swordsman could try for just one more cut****— ****at a time when his opponent had assumed the fight was over. And then, all too often, it was.**

"Trust me I know what you mean. That was how I got my broken nose." Horace said in sympathy.

"Well it doesn't detract from your looks you know." Cassandra flirted. She smiled at him, and he did back but the next few words he said took the smile off her face.

"That's what most of the women said at Castle Araluan too."

**He saw now that Horace was aware. He stepped back lightly from him, moving quickly out of the reach of the sword.**

"**Not bad," said Gilan approvingly. Horace, mortified, let his sword drop ****to the turf.**

"**Not bad?" he exclaimed.****"It was terrible! I never once looked like…" He hesitated. Somehow, it didn't seem polite to admit that for the ****last three or four minutes, he'd been trying to hack Gilan's head from his shoulders.**

"You are right there young Horace, it wouldn't be very diplomatic to say that." Pauline said.

"Since when were warriors diplomatic." Halt scoffed.

"I'm just helping Horace so that he doesn't offend people dear, not everyone is as rough mannered as you." She said while everyone snickered at how she was in control. "Continue reading dear."

**He finally managed to compromise by saying: "I never once ****managed to break through you****r guard."**

"**Well," Gilan said modestly, "I have done this sort of thing before, ****you know."**

"**Yes," panted Horace. "But you're a Ranger. ****Everyone knows Rangers don't use swords."**

"**Apparently, this one does," said Will, grinning. Horace, to his credit, smiled ****wearily in return.**

"**You can say that again." He turned ****respectfully to Gilan. "May I ask where you learned your swordsmanship, sir? I've never seen anything like it."**

**Gilan shook his head in mock ****reproof. "There you go again with the****'sir,'" he said. Then, in answer: "My Sword master was an old man. A northerner named MacNeil."**

"**MacNeil!" Horace whispered in awe. "You don't ****mean ****The ****MacNeil? MacNeil of Bannock?"**

"How many MacNeils do you know Horace?" Duncan asked.

"Only one but I was trying to hide my shock sir."

"Well you didn't do a good job of it." Jenny laughed.

**Gilan nodded. "He's the one," he replied. "You've heard of him then?"**

"What kind of question is that?" Arald asked. "Every knight knows his name!"

"I know I was teasing Horace sir."

**Horace nodded reverently. "Who hasn't heard of ****MacNeil?"**

**And at that stage, Will, tired of not knowing what was going on, decided to speak up.**

"**Well, I haven't, for one," he said. "But ****I'll make tea if anyone chooses to tell ****me about him."**

"How could you have not heard of MacNeil?" Arald turned to confront Will.

"More importantly how could you make tea?" Halt asked with anger as the dominating emotion on his face. "Out of all the training you've done and all the coffees you've made how could you insult me like this?" Halt demanded. Will really had no answer. He was hiding behind Alyss' hair again as if somehow it would save him from Halt's wrath.

"Come on dear it's not that bad." Pauline said, wanting to comfort Will and hiding a laugh at his scared expression.

"It is. The years spent making coffees. It's Ranger tradition; I honestly don't know how you could have done that." Halt said upset.

"Sorry Halt." Will said meekly.

"You should be." He gave him a stern look then concluded that this chapter was finished.

**Well there you go guys, I've finally completed this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think of it, I've had fun writing this. I'll try not to make any promises though because usually writers that do 'reading the books' promise that they'll finish but never do. I don't want to raise your hopes or anything but I'll try and finish it. **


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

"Alright who wants to read now?" Halt asked.

"I will" Horace answered. He really wanted to know what happened in the book and he knew Will well enough to know that he wouldn't want to read about himself.

"Let's start then; we've got about an hour left until we disperse for our sleeping quarters." Duncan informed.

"**S****O TELL ME ABOUT THIS N****EIL PERSON," SAID ****WILL, AS THE three of them settled comfortably by the fire, steaming mugs of herb tea warming their cupped hands.**

"MACNEIL!" Horace, Duncan and Arald exclaimed.

"Hey I was young back there give me some credit, be easy on me." Will was making peaceful hand gestures at the now angry men sitting next to him.

"You've got them on a rampage now haven't you?" Jenny shook her head disapprovingly and told Horace to continue reading.

"**MacNeil," Horace corrected him. "He's a legend."**

"**Oh, he's real enough," said Gilan. "I should know. I ****practiced under him for five years. I started when I was eleven, then, at fourteen, I was apprenticed to Halt. But he always gave me leave of ****absence to continue my work with the ****Sword master."**

"**But why did you continue to learn the ****sword after you started ****training as a Ranger?" Horace ****asked. **

The warriors in the room leaned fore ward to hear Gilan's answer as for years many of them too had wondered what his motives were for loading double the work on himself.

**Gilan shrugged. "Maybe people thought it was ****a shame to waste all that early training. I certainly ****wanted to continue, and my father is Sir David of Caraway Fief, so I suppose I was given some ****leeway in the matter."**

"Oh yes that reminded me of something." Gilan interrupted. He leaned down to Jenny's ear and whispered for a few seconds before her face turned pale.

"Me? Really?" Jenny squeaked. "What if he doesn't like me?" She asked nervous yet oblivious at the same time of the rest of the room looking at the pair.

"Of course he will don't worry my father loves everybody, I mean if he managed to be good friends with Halt he'll definitely be able to be friends with you." Halt scowled at the mention of his name but knew that Jenny needed reassurance since his older ex apprentice had told him he planned to bring Jenny to dinner with his father.

"I didn't know Battle Master David was good friends with Halt." Duncan mused.

"Well he is sir. It's there in the book I think I said it at some point." Horace continued to read after Gilan made his point.

**Horace sat up a little straighter at the mention of the name.**

"**Battle Master David?" he said, obviously more than a little impressed. "The new ****supreme commander?"**

**Gilan nodded, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm. "The same," he agreed. Then, ****seeing that Will ****was ****still in the dark, he explained further:**

"You really don't know much about the knight's code or knights in general do you?" Horace turned to face Will who had an indignant expression on his face.

"Well I'm sorry that I don't know every prissy little fact about knight's and the way they live I'd be hard pressed to find any people who know what the Ranger codes are."

"I didn't know there were any Ranger codes." Alyss asked. From a frown to a smile Will answered that there were ten main Ranger rules "What we like to call RR." He added a bit smug.

"Don't forget who made the rules." Halt's stern face reminded Will and Gilan that it was Halt himself who had come up with the ingenious ten all important rules that were still used in gatherings to test the apprentices.

"Alright I get your point now let me read." Horace said.

"**My father has been appointed supreme commander of the King's armies, since Lord Northolt was murdered. He commanded ****the cavalry at the Battle of Hackham Heath."**

"Damn good at that he was too." Arald muttered yet again.

**Will's eyes widened. "When Morgarath was defeated and driven into the mountains?"**

"Yay finally he gets it." Cassandra cheered while Will glared at her.

**Both Horace and Gilan nodded. Horace continued the explanation enthusiastically.**

"**Sir Rodney says his coordination of the cavalry with flanking archers in the ****final stage of the ****battle is a classic of its kind. He still teaches it as an example of perfect tactics. No wonder your ****father was chosen to replace Lord ****Northolt."**

**Will realized that the conversation had moved away from its original gambit.**

"You always did have a good grasp of your priorities Will." Pauline smiled at him.

"**So what did your father have to do ****with this MacNeil character?" he asked, ****retu****rning to the subject.**

"**Well," said Gilan, "my father was a former pupil as well. It was only natural that MacNeil should gravitate to his Battleschool, wasn't it?"**

"**I suppose so," Will agreed.**

"**And it was only natural that I should come ****under his tutelage ****as soon as I could swing a sword. ****After all, I was the Battle master's son."**

"**So how was it that you became a Ranger?" Horace asked. "Weren't you accepted as a knight?"**

Halt shook his head at Horace with anger.

"How dare you Horace? Do you think people don't actually want to be a Ranger?" Halt confronted him. Horace actually found himself spluttering in the presence of a man half his size. Gilan almost exploded with laughter at Horace's shocked expression and everyone else in the room joined in.

"Well Will thought the same as I did." Horace protested despite the sniggering in the back ground. Immediately Will stopped laughing and almost choked at Horace's tactic.

"Oh right go on and blame me then just because you don't have an answer!" Will stood up. Alyss dragged him back down and whispered in his ear causing Will to blush again. Cassandra looked at Alyss and wondered what she said to make Will react that way, she would need to use that sort of method on Horace soon.

"Look Horace why don't you continue reading." Cassandra said quickly.

**Both Rangers looked at him quizzically, somewhat amused by his assumption that a person only became a Ranger after failing to become a knight or a warrior. In truth, it was only a short time since Will had felt the same way, but now he conveniently overlooked the fact. Horace became aware of the extended lull in the conversation, then of the looks they were giving him. All of a sudden, he realized his gaffe, and tried to recover.**

"You do that a lot you know." Alyss added.

"Do what?" Horace asked.

"You offend people unintentionally."

"Yeah well it's just in my nature."

"It's also in your nature to fart a lot." Will mumbled. He was still angry at Horace.

"Will that's a really late comeback and you're going to have to find something better than that." Though his voice was calm Horace blushed at Will's quiet outburst.

"**I mean…you know. Well, most of us want to ****be knights, don't we?"**

**Will and Gilan exchanged glances. Gilan raised an eyebrow. Horace blundered on.**

"**I mean…no offense or anything…but everyone I know wants to ****be a warrior." His embarrassment lessened as he pointed a forefinger at Will. "You ****did yourself, Will! I remember when we were kids, you used ****to always say you were going to Battle school and ****you'd become a ****famous kni****ght!"**

"Again there you go trying to pin me instead of taking the blame." Will's anger flared again.

"Well that's just because you're the only one around I can blame." Horace replied then continued to read.

**Now it was Will's turn to feel uncomfortable. "And you always sneered at me, ****didn't you, and said I'd be too small?" he said.**

"Now look who's blustering." Horace pointed out.

"Alright truce but you did say that." Will said.

"Well that isn't very nice is it Horace?" Cassandra hit her husband on the arm.

"Aah well erm you see…"

"Horace and Will basically hated each other when they were young." Alyss put it bluntly.

"Well you could say it like that." Will rolled his eyes. Horace blushed.

"We didn't hate each other." Horace said quickly trying to calm down his wife.

"We did." Will added while Horace glared at him then Will got the message a little too late and said. "I mean of course not we didn't hate each other, we just didn't get on the best of terms." He eyed Cassandra to see whether she bought it or not. Her face said it clearly.

"Nice try Will, and you and I are going to have to talk about this." She turned to Horace who looked panic stricken.

"Nice going Will, real smooth." Horace said in a tone low enough so his wife wouldn't hear him.

"Sorry Horace I didn't realise you hadn't told her."

"Well you do now." Then after seeing his wife on the brink of smacking him, he cleared his throat noisily and continued reading.

"**Well, you were!" said Horace, with some heat.**

"Still doesn't change the fact that you said it in the first place." Alyss said.

"I know you're right." Horace looked down then realised why Alyss had always seemed so aloof to him in the past. She was always on _his_ side and she always would be. He almost felt ashamed when he thought back to how scornful and rude he was and he was glad that phase of his life was over. Evidently Battle school did more good for him than he could have imagined possible.

"**Is that right?" Will replied angrily. "Well, does ****it occur to you that maybe Halt had already ****spoken to Sir Rodney and said he ****wanted me as an apprentice? And that's the reason why I wasn't selected for Battle school? Has that ever occurred to ****you?"**

"I wasn't aware I ever spoke to Rodney about this." Halt said with amusement twinkling in his eyes. Will blushed furiously at his immature behaviour and looked at the table as if wishing he could dissolve into it.

"Rodney never told me this happened." Arald declared.

"No sir that's because it's not true, that didn't happen." Will almost whispered.

"Don't worry Willikins a man does what he has to to save his ego." Gilan replied not the least bit deterred from his enthusiasm.

"Willikins?" Jenny asked.

"Kind of our nicknames for each other you could say."

"But Willikins is longer than Will, so isn't that defeating the point of having a nickname?" Alyss asked suppressing fits of laughter waiting to escape from her mouth.

"Don't break the flow Alyss I was improvising, that's what all good rangers do these days."

"Sure, sure." Will said easily though his eyes betrayed him. Anger was so resolutely fixed in his brown eyes that Gilan almost flinched. Almost.

"Let's carry on reading shall we." Duncan boomed, though nerves were almost evident in his voice. He loved this prized room too much to witness a fight occur.

**Gilan interrupted at this point, gently stopping the argument before it got any further out of hand.**

"**I think that's enough of childhood squabbles,"****he said firmly. Both boys, each ready with ****another verbal barb, subsided a little awkwardly.**

"**Oh…yes. Right," mumbled Will. "Sorry."**

Halt looked at Gilan and nodded again, extremely pleased at the fellow ranger's authority. Nearly everyone in the room felt the same way. Though Gilan could be confusing, funny and a tad bit annoying at the worst of times he had an air about him that made people think twice before messing with him.

**Horace nodded several times, em****barrassed at the petty scene that had just occurred.****"Me too," he said. Then, curiosity piqued, he added: "Is that how it happened, Will? Did Halt tell Sir Rodney not to pick you because he wanted you for a Ranger?"**

**Will dropped his gaze and picked at a loose thread on his shirt.**

"**Well…not exactly," he said, then admitted, "and you're right. I always did want ****to be a knight when I was a kid." Then, turning quickly to Gilan, he added, "But I wouldn't change now, not for anything!"**

Everyone smiled at Will's eagerness to be a Ranger and realised how much he had changed over the course of 7 years.

**Gilan smiled at the two of ****them. "I was the opposite," he said. "Remember, ****I grew up in the ****Battle school. I may have started my training with MacNeil when I was eleven, but I began my**** basic training at around nine."**

"**That must have been wonderful," Horace said with a sigh. Surprisin****gly, Gilan shook his head.**

No one seemed surprised that Horace would have loved the idea of starting training at 9. Though Will was extremely grateful he hadn't otherwise he shuddered to think of how much worse bullying he would have had to tolerate. He didn't let that fact be known to others, to save Horace from more humiliation.

"I'm not particularly surprised that you didn't like the idea of training at that age I had to start when I was 5." Duncan said sympathetically.

"Me neither, I never liked the drills or punishments they gave us, they've gone soft on you lot but I remember in my day what they used to do." Arald nearly flinched at the memory of his childhood nightmares.

"**Not to me. You know what ****they say about distant pastures always looking greener?"**

**Both boys looked puzzled by this.**

"**It means you always want what you haven't got," he said, and they both nodded their understanding. "Well, that'****s the way I was. By the time I was twelve, I was sick to death of the ****discipline and drills and parades." He glanced ****sidelong at Horace. "There's a bit of ****that goes on in Battle school, you know."**

**The heavyset boy sighed. "You're telling me," he ****agreed. "St****ill, the horsemanship and practice ****combats are fun."**

"**Maybe," said Gilan. "But I was more interested in the ****life the Rangers led. After Hackham Heath, my father and Halt had ****become good friends and Halt used ****to come visiting. I'd see him ****come and go. So mysterious. So adventurous. I started to think what it might be like to come and go as you please. To live in the forests. People know so little about Rangers, it seemed like the ****most exciting thing in the world to me."**

"That's a first." Jenny muttered. She had always been wary of Rangers almost scared at the tales that swirled around the village of their uncanny powers and their mercilessness. Gilan laughed openly.

"I'm being truthful you know. I actually did think it was a pretty cool job to have. You can ask Halt any day." He added after seeing her incredulous expression.

**Horace looked doubtful. "I've always been a ****little scared of Halt," he said. "I used to ****think he was some kind of sorcerer."**

"Didn't we all." Arald joked and everyone was laughing apart from Halt.

"Even when I knew what Halt did I still have fleeting thoughts that maybe this man was a sorcerer." Duncan added on.

**Will snorted in disbelief. "Halt? A sorcerer?" he said. "He's nothing of the kind!"**

**Horace looked at him, pained once again. "But you used to think the same thing!" he s****aid.**

"**Well…I suppose so. But I was only a kid then."**

"**So was I!" replied Horace, with devastating logic.**

Everyone laughed yet again at Will's foolishness and Cassandra commented on how daft he could be at times.

**Gilan grinned at the two of them. They were both still boys. Halt had been right, he thought. It was good for Will to be spending some time in company with someone his own age.**

"You couldn't be more right about that." Will added. Halt sniffed in mock anger and turned away from Will.

**Will turned to the older Ranger. "So did ****you ask Halt to take you as an apprentice?" he asked. Then, before receiving any answer, continued, ****"What did he say to that?"**

"You do that a lot you know." Alyss commented casually.

"You couldn't be more right about that." Halt said emphasising the line, as the first opportunity rose to get his own back at Will for his comment.

"What do you mean what do I do?" Will asked completely baffled.

"You ask questions firing one after the other and sometimes simultaneously like you're shooting arrows. And most of the time the questions you ask can be completely unrelated to the topic." Halt scoffed. Will sat there stunned, unable to think up a response witty enough to repay Halt. Gilan and Cassandra were roaring with laughter while Jenny and Alyss had sympathetic looks on their faces, and Horace exploded again unable to contain his amusement at Will's face. Eventually the giggling died down while Will managed to recompose himself.

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**Sorry for not updating in a really long time but here you go! This is around 3/4 of Chapter 6 and I'm hopefully going to get the other part up soon as well. Than you for waiting and as ever please review this chapter.**


	8. Chapter 6 continued

Chapter 6 continued

Once Will managed to recompose his features he gestured at Horace to continue reading and tactfully ignored the sniggering of Gilan and Cass. It wouldn't do for either one of them to have a bruised eye.

**Gilan shook his head. "I didn't ask him ****anything. I followed h****im one day when he left our castle ****and headed into the forest."**

"WHAT?" Everyone spluttered apart from Lady Pauline who seemed as calm as ever and Alyss who had to quickly recompose her expression of shock. Halt coughed slightly to hide his laughter and Will and Horace smiled at the rest of the Araluans while acting unsurprised themselves.

"What were you thinking?" Jenny squealed.

"Honestly I have no idea" Gilan laughed. "It was probably one of the most insane things I have ever tried to do in my life."

"More importantly what did Halt do?" Cassandra asked and the rest of the crowd swivelled in their seats to look at Halt, who as always kept a blank face. Horace decided to read again so they knew.

"**You followed him? A Ranger? You ****followed a Ranger into the forest?" said Horace. He ****didn't know whether to be impressed by Gilan's courage or appalled at his foolhardiness. Will sprang ****to Gilan's defence.**

"**Gil's one of the best unseen movers in the Ranger Corps," he said quickly. "The best, probably."**

"**I wasn't then," said Gilan ruefully. "Mind you, I thought I knew ****a bit about moving without ****being seen. I found out how little I actually did know when I tried to sneak up on Halt when he stopped for a noon meal. Next thing I knew, his hand grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and ****threw me in a stream."**

Cassandra roared with laughter in a very unlady like manner as did the rest of the people gathered. Gilan smiled again and Halt's mouth had twitched up at the corners as he remembered a fifteen year old lanky boy and his shocked face as he was drenched in water. He sighed quietly and thought of how long ago that happened. A small hand wrapped around his perfectly as if made for him alone and saw Pauline looking at him as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. How did she do that?

"Alright everyone I want to hear the rest of the story." Duncan said after stopping himself from laughing finally. Everyone stopped after a while and the story was continued.

**He smiled at the memory of it.**

"**I suppose he sent you home in disgrace then?" asked Horace, bu****t Gilan shook his head again, a distant smile still on his face as he remembered that day.**

"**On the contrary, he kept me ****with him for a week. Said ****I wasn't too bad at sneaking around the ****forest and I might have some talent as an unseen mover. He started to teach me about being a Ranger**** —and by the end of ****the week, I was his apprentice."**

"Wow that was unexpected." Arald exclaimed. Others nodded in agreement. Halt seemed to always surprise them with his twists and turns.

"**How did your father take it when ****you told him?" Will asked. "Surely he wanted you to be ****a knight like him. I guess he was disappointed."**

"Will not all fathers expect their sons to be a knight." Arald shook his head at the young man he had come to admire.

"Well I thought they did at the time, mind you I didn't really have my father as living proof to know whether I was right or not." Will joked. He looked at the faces before him and realised they had taken his words seriously, after all not many people joked about their dead parents. There was an awkward silence in the room, though since Alyss was like Will she understood his meaning and said.

"He's joking everyone." There was a sigh of relief as they realised this.

"You might not have known your father but he was a good man." Halt said gruffly. Most of the people in the room turned in shock.

"You knew him?" Arald asked.

"Continue reading Horace." Halt said quickly averting attention from himself. He didn't want to get into this discussion now.

"**Not at all," said Gilan. "The strange thing was, ****Halt had told him that ****I'd probably be following him into the forest. My father had already agreed that ****I could serve as Halt's apprentice, before I even knew I wanted to."**

**Horace frowned. "How could Halt have known that?"**

"Exactly how did Halt know that?" Alyss asked smirking at his unexpected nature. Halt shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know it's just something I feel Will, Gilan you both get what I mean." And indeed the two ex apprentices did know what he was talking about as sometimes they felt the same way when in training. An instinct that controls your movement, your thoughts most of the time benefitting you.

**Gilan shrugged and looked at ****Will meaningfully. "Halt has a way of knowing things, doesn't he, Will?" he asked, grinning. Will remembered that dark night in the Baron's office, and the hand ****that had shot out of the darkness to seize his wrist. Halt had been waiting for him that night. Just ****as he'd obviously waited for Gilan to follow him.**

"Wait what was this?" Alyss asked. No one apart from Halt, Arald and Will knew and personally Arald loved it. The feeling of being made privy to a secret and then the look of pure desperation as people tried to figure out what happened made him feel giddy inside.

"There there Alyss it's just a secret we've been keeping for a while now." The rest were curious now at the Barons words and he had to hide a smile. Alyss frowned. She'd find out somehow, her and Will were bound to be alone at some point and then she'd get it out of him. She then thought of how crazy and evilly twisted she sounded and shook her head. Regardless she needed to know what happened.

**He looked deep into ****the low embers of the fire before he answered. "Maybe, in his own way, he is a kind of a sorcerer," he said.**

"Of course he is everyone knows that!" Cassandra claimed.

"After all he is eight foot tall." Alyss added.

"And he can kill boars with bear hands" Horace said. There was a general chorus of laughter that spread across the room while Halt looked noticeably unimpressed and Pauline couldn't help herself.

"It seems I've married a sorcerer God save me" The laughter increased even more at that and Halt scowled at his wife then immediately stopped as he realised she excelled even more so than him at that department.

**The three companions sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, thinking about what had been discussed. Then Gilan stretched and yawned.**

"**Well, I'm for sleep," he said. "We're on a war footing these days, so we'll set watches. Will, you're first, then Horace, then me. ‟Night, you two."**

**And so saying, he rolled himself into his gray-green cloak and was soon breathing deeply and evenly.**

"That's it the chapter's finished." Horace said. Duncan looked out towards the sky and saw a red haze spread out across the horizon. It was almost evening he knew and after dinner they would have to separate into their own quarters.

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**Hey guys thank you for being so patient, I've had exams all week and I still have more the next week but hopefully when the Christmas holidays start I'll be updating much more often. Don't forget to review otherwise I'll make Halt eat his own quiver in this story!**


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Who wants to read now?" Horace asked at the group.

"I will." Pauline had her elegant hand outstretched and flicking to the right pages she continued reading in a voice as smooth as glass.

**THEY WERE ON THE ROAD AGAIN BEFORE THE SUN WAS barely clear of the horizon. The clouds had cleared now, blown away by a fresh southerly wind, and the air was crisp and cold as their trail started to wind higher into the rocky foothills leading to the border with Celtica.**

**The trees grew more stunted and gnarled. The grass was coarse and the thick forest was replaced by short, windblown scrub. This was a part of the land where the winds blew constantly, and the land itself reflected its constant scouring action. The few houses they saw in the distance were huddled into the side of hills, built of stone walls and rough thatch roofs. It was a cold, hard part of the kingdom and, as Gilan told them, it would become harder as they entered Celtica itself. ****That evening, as they relaxed ****around the campfire, Gilan continued with Horace's instruction in ****swordsmanship.**

"Setting the scenery I guess." Cassandra sighed. She was more of an action adventure type of girl and hearing the older courier read reminded her of why she had no patience for books. She was also beginning to wonder when she would arrive in to the plot. Horace sensing her distress held her hand from underneath the table and made smooth circles in her palm with his thumb.

"**Timing is the essence of the whole thing," ****he said to the sweating apprentice. "See ****how you're parrying with your arm locked and rigid?"**

**Horace looked at his right arm. Sure enough, it was locked, stiff as a board. He looked pained.**

"I probably would look pained if I was being forced to fight after a long days ride in the saddle." Arald said comforting the young knight in front of him.

"Of course you look pained anyways whenever you get on the saddle." Halt said dryly. Many of those in the room sniggered at the remark though Arald's face stopped them from going any further. Only Halt seemed unperturbed by the anger etched on his features.

"**But I have to be ready to stop your stroke," he explained.**

**Gilan nodded patiently then demonstrated with his own sword. "Take a swing at me."****As Horace did so, Gilan said, "Look…see how ****I'm doing it? As your stroke is coming, my hand and ****arm are relaxed. Then, just before your sword reaches the spot where I want to stop it, I make a ****small counter swing, see?"**

Butterflies, buttercups and daisies and maybe also a rack of lamb. Should I add more salt or a little less turmeric? Maybe I'll do a vegetable dish next time…

"Jenny? Jenny? Are you listening to the book?" Gilan's sweet voice rang out to her and snapped her out of her daydreaming. She looked at his disappointed face and knew he knew the truth. Truth was, anything to do with fighting she zoned out on and it didn't help that she had to zone out when her boyfriend was teaching. She would have to make it up to him the next night. A blueberry pie would most probably do the trick.

**He did so, using his hand ****and wrist to swing the blade of his sword in ****a small arc. "My grip ****tightens at the last moment, and the greater part of the energy of your swing is absorbed by the movement of my own blad****e."**

"That sounds impressive. Go counter swing." Jenny said with an enthusiastic expression. Gilan huffed and turned the opposite direction, then hearing Jenny sigh in defeat he turned back and pulled her to him. Others in the room pretended to be busy or were murmuring to one another to give the couple some privacy, apart from Will who seemed to have no common sense in that area and continued to gaze at them till Alyss pulled him away.

"Don't worry I understand, I mean if it was me I'd probably have killed myself now if I had to read any recipe books." He joked, though it seemed to have the wrong effect on Jenny.

"Killed yourself? Why? Recipe books are fun you get to learn how to make all these different dishes and experiment with them, dabble in a bit of this or a bit of that mix it up bash it up and…" She could have carried on into her own little universe but everyone was looking at her oddly and so she stopped talking.

"Right I was just trying to empathise with you dear but it doesn't matter now." Gilan looked at her for a moment then stopped as Pauline began reading.

**Horace nodded doubtfully. It seemed so easy for Gilan.**

"**But…what if I miss-time it?"**

**Gilan smiled widely. "Well, in that case, I'll probably just lop your head off ****your shoulders." He paused. Horace obviously wasn't too pleased with that ****answer. "The ide****a is not ****to miss-time it,"****Gilan added gently.**

"**But…" the boy began.**

"**And the way to develop ****your timing is?" Gilan interrupted. Horace nodded wearily.**

"**I know. I know. Practice."**

"Huh doesn't it suck?" Duncan boomed.

"It sure does, but once you get the hang of it, it helps save your life." Gilan added.

**Gilan beamed at him again.****"That's right. So, ready? One and two and ****three and**

**four, that's better, and three and four…No! No! Just a ****small movement of the wrist…and one and two…"****The ring of their blades echoed through the campsite.**

**Will watched with some interest, heightened by the fact that he wasn't the one who was working****up a sweat.**

"Of course you would be happy I mean how selfish Will." Alyss scolded him while he shrugged sheepishly.

"Oh don't worry Alyss that changes, I make him change." Gilan said with an air of boastfulness about him.

"Why didn't you make him change before then?" Halt asked. He wanted to pop the bubble of assurance surrounding him. Gilan stuttered then signalled Pauline to keep reading so Halt could be distracted.

**After a few days of this, Gilan noticed that Will seemed a little too relaxed. He was sitting, running a stone down the edge of his sword after a practice session with Horace, when he glanced quizzically at the apprentice Ranger.**

"Oh no! You can tell this is where the trouble starts." Cassandra laughed. Will smiled at her then answered back.

"That's an understatement." He glanced at Gilan who had a shocked expression on him.

"It helped you in the long run." Gilan pointed out wisely.

"I know but at the time it didn't feel like it." Will sighed.

"**Has Halt shown you the double knife sword defence yet?" he asked suddenly. Will looked ****up in ****surprise.**

"I can not believe you hadn't taught him that yet. It's shameful Halt." Gilan said with disappointment ringing in his every word, though his eyes held a light of amusement.

"I was getting to that part." Halt said calmly.

"Sure you were, Will's lucky I was there to help him out otherwise he would have missed half the important skills he needed to become a Ranger." Gilan proudly announced while Halt and Will frowned.

"I think Will doesn't appreciate the both of you talking about him as if he isn't in the room." Will raised his eyebrow. Horace looked in amazement at this revelation. Recently since he had been married and was able to afford a mirror he had seen how off target his eyebrow raising had become and since then had sought to improve it. Seemed like Rangers managed to do it naturally he sighed.

"**The double knife…what?" he ****asked uncertainly. Gilan sighed deeply.**

"Huh typical Will." Cassandra muttered.

"I had my work cut out for me you know." Gilan sighed. Others in the room of course chuckled at Will's ignorance.

"**Sword defence. Damn! I should have realized ****that there'd be more for me to ****do. Serv****es me right ****for taking two apprentices along with me." He stood up with an exaggerated sigh, and motioned ****for Will to follow him. Puzzled, the boy did.**

"Imagine then how I must have felt taking you on. You're worse than five apprentices put together." Halt commented. Will and Horace laughed at Gilan's expression after all the both of them were under Gilan's leadership at the time and wanted him to feel exactly the way they felt.

**Gilan led the way to the clear ground where he and Horace had been practicing their swordsmanship. Horace was still there, making shadow lunges and cuts at an imaginary foe as he counted time to himself under his breath. Sweat ran freely down his face and his shirt was dark ****with it.**

"There's maximum dedication for you." Alyss said smiling at Horace. He reflected that there was once a time when the tall young diplomat hadn't liked him much at all and he thought he knew the reason why. After his immediate friendship with Will after the boar attack she had been acting a lot kinder to him, looking back at it now he didn't know how he overlooked her obvious liking to his best friend.

"**Right, Horace," called Gilan. "Take a ****break for a few minutes."**

**Gratefully, Horace complied. He lowered the sword and sank onto the trunk of a fallen tree.**

"**I think I'm getting the feel of it," he said. ****Gilan nodded approvingly.**

"**Good for you. Another three or four ****years and you might just have it mastered." He spoke ****cheerfully,**** but Horace's face dropped as the ****prospect of long years of weary practice stretched ****out in front of him.**

The knights and everyone else including Lady Pauline had to laugh at Horace's facial description. It was the face everyone in this room had used plenty of times when they were in shock.

"**Look on the bright side, Horace,"****Gilan said. "By that time, there'd be less than a ****handful of swordsmen in the kingdom who could ****best you in a duel."**

"Well done Gil you're being supportive." Jenny approved greatly.

"Not for long" Horace said remembering their conversation vividly.

**Horace's face brightened somewhat, then sagged ****again as Gilan added: "The only trick is ****knowing who those handful are. Be most uncomfortable if you accidentally challenged one of ****them and then found out, wouldn't it?"**

"All you Rangers are the same, none of you know how to comfort anyone." Alyss shook her head. Her husband seemed to disagree.

"No we're being truthful and that's helpful to a person." He looked at his wife and she smiled at him. This was one of the many things he liked about Alyss. She didn't care if he had different opinions and she let him still have an individual life without tagging behind him too much. He had heard many stories from his bachelor friends about how women were too dependent and dragged the men down. Nothing could be further from the case in this situation.

**He didn't wait for an answer, but tur****ned to the smaller boy.**

"Well I wasn't that much smaller." Will said, offended by the book's language.

"Yes, you were a midget Will accept it." Horace said smiling. Will quietened down and after a while smiled back.

"I guess I was pretty short that's why people kept calling me M.B in school." He sighed.

"M.B?" Cassandra asked.

"Midget Boy." Will smiled at the memory. Others in the room looked at him in shock. "I wasn't terribly popular in school at the time." He said. Though that was a story for another time.

"**Now, Will," he said. "Let's see those knives of ****yours."**

"**Both of them?" Will hesitated and Gilan rolled his eyes to heaven. The expression was ****remarkably like the one that Halt used when Will asked one question too many.**

"I have too much of an effect on my apprentices." Halt muttered.

"No it's just Will, everyone rolls their eyes at him once they realise how many questions he can ask per minute." Gilan laughed. Will played along not in the slightest bit offended.

"I think it was 300 or so per minute." He laughed. Many of the people knew how curious Will could get and how the words tumbled out of his mouth without his intending them.

"**Sorry," W****ill mumbled, unsheathing his two knives and holding them out to Gilan. The older ****Ranger didn't take them. He quickly inspected their edges and checked to ****see that the fine layer ****of rust-proofing oil was on them. He nodded, satisfied, when he saw everything was as it should ****be.**

"**Right," he said. "Saxe knife goes in ****your right hand, because that's the one you use ****to block a ****sword cut**** —"**

**Will frowned. "Why would I need to block a ****sword cut?"**

"Oh my goodness are you seriously asking that question?" Cassandra said shocked.

"Maybe so that you don't die." Alyss said in answer to the question in the book.

"Wait there's a good reason why I asked that question." Will said calming the two young ladies down.

"There better be." Arald said rolling his eyes to the heavens.

**Gilan leaned forward and rapped him none too gently on the top of his head with his knuckles.**

"Ouch that can't feel nice I know what you must have felt." Horace said to Will in sympathy. He had been on the receiving end of many of these during his time in apprenticeship. Sir Rodney was a hard task master.

"**Well, perhaps to stop it from splitting your skull might be a good reason," he suggested.**

"**But Halt says Rangers don't fight at close quarters," Will protested. Gilan nodded ****agreement.**

"**It's certainly not our role. But, if the occasion arises when ****we have to, it's a good ****idea to know how to go about it."**

**As they'd been talking, Horace had risen ****from his spot on the log and ****moved closer to watch**** them. He interrupted a trifle scornfully.**

"**You don't think a little knife like that is going to stop a proper sword, do ****you?" he asked. Gilan ****raised one eyebrow at him.**

"Wrong question Horace wrong question." Pauline said. He nodded ruefully at her comment. Halt snorted.

"How could you even doubt the quality of our weapons? They're probably even better than yours." He said smug.

"Woah hang on a second Halt let's not get too out of hand here we all know knight swords are stronger." Arald said. He also said the wrong thing. The three Rangers ganged up on him and even with the help of his fellow knight comrades, Rangers were used to getting their way. Everybody knew that.

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**So that's it so far. I am extremely sorry for updating so late really I have no excuse I was just lazy and I apologise yet again but I hope I can finish this book and I'm not going to stop trying! Remember review if you liked and add constructive criticism if you wish I don't mind **


	10. Chapter 7 Continuation

Chapter 7 Continuation

Pauline, sensing a horrible fight in the making quickly diverted everyone's attention from arguing and bickering by continuing on with the rest of the chapter.

"**Take a closer look at that 'little knife' before ****you sound so certain," he invited. Horace ****held out ****his hand for the knife. Will quickly reversed it and placed its hilt into ****Horace's hand.**

**Will had to agree with Horace. The saxe knife was a large knife. Almost a short sword, in fact.**

**But compared to a real sword, ****like Horace's or Gilan's, it seemed woefully inadequate.**

"See what did I tell you." Arald exclaimed smugly to Halt who sat there fuming.

"Oh that's not the end there is more so don't think you've won yet." Will said to defend his mentor's bruised ego.

**Horace swung the knife experimentally, testing its balance.**

"**It's heavy," he said finally.**

"**And hard. Very, very hard," Gilan told him. "Ranger ****knives are made by craftsmen who've perfected the art of hardening steel to an ****amazing degree. You'd blunt ****your sword edge against that, and barely leave a nick on it."**

**Horace pursed his lips. "Even so, you've been teaching me the idea of movement and leverage all week. There's a lot less leverage in ****a short blade like this."**

"**That's true," Gilan agreed. "So we have to find another source of leverage, don't we? And that's the shorter knife. The throwing knife."**

"Oh so that's what the throwing knife was for, I always thought it was for an extra weapon to throw." Pauline commented.

"Initially yes but it's also very handy for leverage as well." Will answered.

"Something I taught you." Gilan inputted into the conversation.

"And something I helped you practise." Horace added, not wanting to be forgotten in his vitality in Will's training.

"The way you lot say it seems like I wasn't his mentor at all." Halt grumbled. He was received by smug grins from Gilan and Horace both.

"**I don't get it," said Horace, the frown deepening between his eyebrows. Will didn't either, but ****he was glad the other boy had admitted his ignorance first.**

"Will!" Cassandra exclaimed. "How could you?" Secretly she had used this tactic many a times prior when there was a term she was unfamiliar with. She was glad there was someone else other than her who seemed to use the same method. Will, knowing that she was joking grinned in return.

"It wasn't that hard I just had to pretend I knew what I was doing." He replied.

"Which you don't most of the time." Halt added which made Jenny giggle.

"It's called improvisation Halt, we've been through this!" Will said exasperated.

"If you knew what you were doing though Will you wouldn't have to improvise." Gilan added as a clever intake to the situation. He was served by a frosty glare from Will, who though was his junior and relatively knew at being a Ranger was still threatening enough to make Gilan fall silent.

"I think it's good Will improvises, it makes him original." Alyss added, coming to her husbands defence. Will smiled at her warmly in gratitude.

"We all knew he was original I mean look at his hair, have you seen anything messier in your life?" Halt asked. The people in the room shook their heads to Will's horror.

"Oh come on, my hair isn't that bad." He said justifying the tangle of dark brown hair. "Is it?" He added weakly at the end.

"Personally I think it's quite cute, it's got a certain cheekiness that shows a bit of rebel in there." Jenny answered. Will, satisfied by her answer sat back in relaxation. Gilan however was alarmed. _What did she mean messy hair was cute? Why have I just been spending the past week combing my hair then? _He didn't know what she thought of his hair after seeing Will's he was utterly convinced he needed to ruffle his hair. _Why are girls so hard to understand? _He thought miserably to himself. Pauline seeing the predicament in Gilan's eyes continued reading to take his mind off hairstyles.

**He adopted a knowing look as he ****waited for Gilan to explain. He should ****have known better. The Ranger's sharp eyes missed very ****little.**

"**Well, perhaps Will could explain it for you?" Gilan said pleasantly.**

"Oh isn't this fun? Will is always going to be on the spotlight." Alyss said while Will groaned. She hid a smile. She knew his reluctance at being at the centre of any sort of commotion or attention.

"I wonder what you actually do say Will this should be interesting to find out." Duncan said in pleasure. Will was reminded yet again how foolish he was during his adolescence.

"**Well…it's the…ah…um…the two knife defence," he stammered. There was a long pause****as Gilan said nothing, so Will added, just a****little doubtfully: "Isn'****t it?"**

"Well said Will couldn't have explained the concept any better myself " Horace laughed as Will threw a cushion at him.

"Ha ha very funny." Will said sarcastically.

"It is quite funny, that's why I'm laughing." Arald said.

"**Of course it is!" Gilan replied. "Now would you care to demonstrate?" He didn't even wait for Will's reply, but went on with barely a pause, "I thought not. So, please, allow me."**

It hadn't occurred to Will at the time, but he had learnt an awful lot from Gilan to whom he had never thanked very often. He took the time to do so now.

"Don't worry it was quite fun teaching you actually." Gilan said, his previous light demeanour gone. To that statement Halt had to do his legendary eyebrow raise.

"Just wait until you get an apprentice that was as bad as you were." Halt said.

**He took Will's saxe knife and withdrew his own ****throwing knife from its sheath. Then he gestured to Horace's sword with the smaller knife.**

"**Right, then," he said, all business. "Pick up ****your sticker."**

**Horace did so, doubtfully. Gilan gestured him out to the centre of the practice area, then took a ready stance. Horace did the same, sword point up.**

"**Now," said Gilan, "try an overhand cut at me."**

"**But…" Horace gestured unhappily to the two smaller weapons in Gilan's grasp. Gilan rolled his ****eyes in exasperation.**

"You know your reluctance to practise with us was quite insulting." Will said.

"I was only doing it because I was scared of hurting you guys." Horace replied.

"That's why it was insulting." Will shot back.

"I mean the way you treat us Rangers it's as if we haven't had to fight a day in our lives and you're the only one who has." Gilan added picking up on Will's point. Horace who was now in a dangerous situation started backpedalling.

"I never said I did it because I was scared I would hurt you." Horace exclaimed

"You just did a couple of minutes ago." Halt said dryly.

"No I mean I was more scared of hurting myself than you guys." Horace said the first thing that came to his mind. Unlike Will he really wasn't as good at improvisation.

"Horace drop it, you've lost and you three back off my husband he's the future king." Cassandra told off the three green and grey vultures perched on their chairs. All three of them groaned in unison at the prospect of working for Horace. There were years of practical jokes that Horace could now put on them that they wouldn't be able to stop.

"**When will you two learn?" he asked. "I do know what I'm doing. Now get on with it!"**

**He actually shouted the last words at Horace. The big apprentice, galvanized into action, and conditioned to instant obedience to shouted commands by his months spent on the drill field,****swung his sword in a murderous overhand cut ****at Gilan's head.**

Oohs simultaneously ran around the room at the image of such a deadly attack, Jenny it was to be noted nearly fell off her seat and it was Gilan himself who was comforting her.

**There was a ringing clash of steel and the blade stopped dead in the air. Gilan had crossed the two Ranger knives in front of it, the throwing knife supporting the saxe knife blade, and blocked the cut easily. Horace stepped back, a little surprised.**

"I sure as hell would be surprised as well." Arald exclaimed as he shook his head. It seemed he had gravely underestimated Rangers abilities in general and reading this was a reminder as to why they were so crucial to the Kingdom of Araluan.

"**See?" said Gilan. "The ****smaller knife provides the support, or the extra leverage,****for the bigger ****weapon.****" He addressed these remarks mainly to Will, who looked on with great interest. Then ****he spoke to Horace again. "Right. Underhand cut, please."**

**Horace swung underhand. Again, Gilan locked the two blades and blocked the stroke. He glanced at Will, who nodded his understanding.**

"**Now, side cut," Gilan ordered. Again, ****Horace swung. Again, the sword was stopped ****cold.**

"**Getting the idea?" Gilan asked Will.**

"**Yes. What about a straight thrust?" he****asked. Gilan nodded approvingly.**

"He always could go to the heart of any problem couldn't he?" Gilan asked Halt, surprised yet pleased at the time with Will's genuine nature.

"Yes he could." Halt replied ignoring the crimson blush that dominated the colour on Will's face. Everyone in the room of course knew Will was a great Ranger and they also knew he was extremely humble. Will kept quiet. It was a rare occasion when men managed to talk about their feelings, or important feelings at any rate so the idea that they were speaking of him in such a good light made him unable to speak. He simply nodded appreciatively which both men took as a signal for his gratitude.

"**Good question. That's a little different." He turned back to Horace. "Incidentally, if you're ever ****facing a man using two knives, thrusting is your safest and most effective form of attack. Now, ****thrust, please."**

**Horace lunged with the point of his sword, his right foot leading the way in a high-stepping stamp to deliver extra momentum to the stroke. This time, Gilan used only the saxe knife to deflect the blade, sending it gliding past his body with a slither of steel.**

"**We can't stop this one," he instructed Will. "So we simply deflect it. On ****the positive side, ****there's less force behind a thrust, so we can ****use just the saxe knife."**

"Wow I didn't know that, it must make you very vulnerable then." Alyss said while Pauline nodded. Gilan replied.

"You're right it does make us more vulnerable to attack but then again most warriors tend to go for an overhead swing or a side cut." He answered from his own experience. Horace nodded in agreement.

"I hate what happened now." Horace said nodding to the open book in Pauline's hands.

"Why? What happens?" Cassandra asked curious.

"You'll find out right now." Horace said gloomily. Will smiled at the memory which only resulted to a cushion in his face. Everyone laughed while Will coughed out bits of fluff and feather while Pauline carried on.

**Horace, meeting no real resistance to the thrust, had stumbled forward as the blade was ****deflected. Instantly, Gilan's left hand was gripping a handful ****of his shirt ****and had pulled him closer, until their shoulders were almost touching. It happened so quickly and casually that ****Horace's eyes widened in surprise.**

"I am sorry for doing that by the way. I guess I just got so caught up in the moment in trying to show Will." Gilan's apology to the youngest warrior in the room sounded sincere enough for Horace to shrug it away and smile in return.

"It's alright you were only trying to teach and the fear of your sudden attack only served to make me a better fighter." Horace replied.

"Well now all that's sorted how about the rest of us actually find out what happened shall we?" Halt gestures at his wife to continue, which she certainly did.

"**And this is where a short blade comes in very handy indeed," Gilan pointed out. He mimed an ****underarm thrust ****with the saxe knife into Horace's exposed side. The boy's eyes widened even ****further as he realized the full implications of what he had just been shown. His discomfort increased as Gilan continued his demonstration.**

"**And of course, if you don't want to kill him, or if he's wearing a ****mail shirt, you can always use the saxe blade to cripple him."**

**He mimed a short swing to the back of Horace's knee, bringing the heavy, razor ****-sharp blade to a halt a few inches from his leg. Horace gulped. But the lesson still w****asn't over.**

"No wonder you were so terrified, I would be too no doubt." Duncan said in sympathy with his son in law. Cassandra however stopped from laughing to give her husband a sweet peck on the cheek which seemed to have a good effect on him.

"**Or remember," Gilan added cheerfully, "this left hand, ****holding his collar, also has a rather nasty, rather sharp stabbing blade attached to ****it." He waggled the short, broad****-bladed throwing knife to bring their attention to it.**

"**A quick thrust up under the ****jaw and it's good night swordsman, isn't it?"**

**Will shook his head in admiration. "That's amazing, Gilan!" he ****breathed. "I've never seen anything like it."**

"It might be amazing to you but I'm pretty sure Horace wasn't having the time of his life." Alyss said in sympathy. Will totally unabashed replied.

"Well it's not as if Gil would have killed him I mean he's an expert swordsman."

"Well how would you feel if you had to have the fear of almost dying?" Horace shot back.

"I already have so I know what it feels like." Will replied quietly.

**Gilan released his grip on Horace's shirt and the ****boy stepped back quickly, before any more demonstrations of his vulnerability might be made.**

"**We don't make a lot of ****noise about it," the Ranger admitted.****"It's preferable to run into a swordsman who doesn't know the dangers involved in the double knife defence." He glanced apologetically at Horace. "Naturally, it's taught in the ****kingdom's Battle schools," he added. "But it's a second-year subject. Sir Rodney would have shown you next year."**

**Will stepped forward into the practice ground. "Can****I try it?" he a****sked eagerly, unsheathing his throwing knife.**

"**Of course," said Gilan. "You two ****may as well practice together in the evenings from now on. But not with real weapons. Cut ****some practice sticks to use."**

**Horace nodded at the ****wisdom of this. "That's right, Will," he said. "After all, you're just starting to learn this and I wouldn't want to ****hurt you." He thought about ****it, then added with a ****grin, "Well, not too badly, anyway."**

"Well my, my you certainly were an overconfident rooster weren't you?" Halt asked disapprovingly. "I hope Will that you managed to beat him at least once?" He asked his former apprentice with a gleam in his eye only to have it vanished.

"Not once." Will said while smiling. He didn't care though; he knew Horace was much better trained than he was. Horace grinned at the older Ranger smugly.

"Let's not get too happy yet Horace remember what happened after?" Gilan asked then hid a smile while Horace's smug appearance faded.

**The grin faded as Gilan corrected him. "That's one reason, of course," said ****the Ranger.**

"**But we also don't have the time for you to****be re sharpening your sword every night."**

**He glanced meaningfully down at Horace's blade. The apprentice followed his gaze and let out a****low moan. There were two deep nicks in the edge of his blade, obviously from the overhand and ****underhand cuts that Gilan had blocked. One glance told Horace that he'd spend at least an hour ****honing and sharpening to get rid of them. He looked questioningly at the saxe knife, hoping to see the same result there. Gilan shook his head cheerfully and brought the heavy blade up for inspection.**

"**Not a mark," he said, grinning. "Remember, I told you that Ranger knives are specially made."**

"I told you our weapons are a lot stronger." Said Halt with glee.

"Yes it was quite fun seeing his face drop after he saw the nicks on his blade." Gilan giggled as Horace moaned.

"What are you moaning for? It's me who should be moaning I'm the one that's pregnant." Cassandra joked while everyone laughed. "I mean this baby is huge it is so heavy I'm pretty sure it's because it got all of Horace's fat." Her husband frowned at her in mock anger and smiled at the atmosphere of friendliness as he was surrounded by the group of people he loved.

**Ruefully, Horace rummaged in his pack for his sharpening steel and, sitting down on the hard-packed sand, began to draw it along the edge of his sword.**

"**Gilan," Will said. "I've been thinking…"**

**Gilan raised his eyebrows to heaven in mock despair. Again, the expression reminded Will ****forcefully of Halt. "Always a problem," said the Ranger. "And what, pray te****ll, have you been ****thinking?"**

"**Well," began Will slowly, "this double knife business is all well and ****good. But wouldn't it be better just to shoot the swordsman before he got to close quarters?"**

"No you don't say." Cassandra said sarcastically. Her and Will had a special bond that meant he was never the least bit offended whenever she did make an offensive remark. He laughed.

"I was just trying to figure out why we needed to use knives in the first place I used to hate using them." He added.

"Why?" Halt asked surprised that he never knew this himself.

"Well mainly because it made me too vulnerable and I hate the idea of fighting at close quarters, I still do." Will answered.

"**Yes, Will. It certainly would," Gilan agreed patiently. "But ****what if you were about to do that ****and your bowstring broke?"**

"**I could run and hide," he suggested, but Gilan pressed him.**

"**What if there was nowhere to run? ****You're trapped against a sheer cliff. Nowhere to go. ****Your ****bowstring just broke and an angry swords****man is coming at you. What then?"**

**Will shook his head. "I suppose then ****I'd have to fight," he admitted reluctantly.**

"**Exactly," Gilan agreed. "We avoid ****close combat wherever possible. But if the time ****comes when there's no other choice, it's a good idea to be prepared, isn't it?"**

"**I guess," Will said. Then Horace chimed in ****with a question.**

"**What about an axman?" he said. Gilan looked at him, nonplussed for a moment.**

"**An axman?" he asked.**

"**Yes," said Horace, warming to his theme. ****"What about if you're facing a****n enemy with a**** battleaxe? Do your knives work then?"**

**Gilan hesitated. "I wouldn't advise anyone to face a battleaxe with just two knives,"****he said ****carefully.**

"**So what should I do?" Will joined in. Gilan glared from one boy to the other. He had the feeling ****he was being set up.**

"**Shoot him," he said shortly. Will shook ****his head, grinning.**

"**Can't," he said. "My bowstring's broken."**

"**Then run and hide," said Gilan, between gritted teeth.**

"**But there's a cliff," Horace pointed out. "A sheer drop behind him and an an****gry axman coming ****at him."**

"**What do I do?" prompted Will.**

**Gilan took a deep breath and looked them both in the eye, one after the other.**

"**Jump off the cliff. It'll be less messy that way."**

Everyone in the room laughed at his final words and the set up between the two teenagers at the time.

"Well I doubt Will's ever going to be in that position anyway." Jenny scoffed at Gilan's over reaction in the book. Will grinned at a memory and felt Alyss jog him in the ribs.

"What?" She asked. He looks at her and bursts out laughing. Everyone else was looking at him then he said.

"That's exactly what happened to me Jenny, I got attacked at the edge of a cliff with an angry axe man coming towards me." Will laughed. Between mixtures of laughter and shock from the rest of the room Jenny asked.

"How did you make it out alive then?" Will looked at her for a moment then answered.

"I jumped off the cliff." He said in a face with absolute deadpan. Everyone else gasped except for two people in the room, Halt and Alyss. Halt because he was there and knew what happened and Alyss because she had seen Will's face her whole life and knew every facial expression of his and the meaning behind them. She knew he was lying. Though the impact of his words didn't make it any less real for the rest of his audience.

* * *

**Hey guys I'm really sorry for my late updates but I was really busy and I'm trying hard to continue with this book and hopefully I'll be able to so please review and always check for updates because they tend to be a bit random!**


	11. Chapter 8

Chapter 9

"You're not serious?" Jenny squealed.

"Jenny if I really did jump off a cliff do you think I would be sitting here today?" Will asked with an air of impatience. He wanted to continue with the book.

"Oh-right-yes of course." She mumbled hastily. Will softened.

"So how did you defeat the axman?" Horace asked with evident curiosity.

"Aah Horace that's a story for another time." Will said with an intelligent nod of the head. He looked at Pauline and gestured him reading the book.

"Are you sure Will?" She asked politely. She knew it would be hard to read about his own life and down right weird at the same time. Will sighed.

"Yes I'm sure. It was bound to happen at some point." Will held the book and beamed. It seemed the beginning of the chapter was not to be about him as expected and he couldn't wait to hear what the others had been up to in his absence.

**BARON ARALD SHOVED THE HEAVY PARCHMENT SCROLL TO one side and looked up at Lady Pauline in exasperation.**

"**Pauline, do you understand what this idiot is getting at?" he asked. The head of Castle Redmont's Diplomatic Corps nodded. **

"Brilliant a couple of lines in and we already have the Baron cursing at some one. I'm beginning to love this more and more." Said Gilan with a smile fixed upon his face. The Baron blushed a beetroot red while others around the table laughed.

"Who were you cursing anyways?" Will asked. He had always known the Baron to be a kind man so whoever he was cursing must have done something very wrong.

"**In principle, I do, my lord," she ****said. Arald made a frustrated gesture.**

"Ha I could just imagine the Baron huffing in anger and Pauline's calm face." Will chortled. His remark on Arald's huffing gained him a frosty disapproval and immediately he carried on reading.

"**Then in principle, please explain it to me," he said, adding in an undertone, "as if I don't have enough on my plate ****planning for war without this sort of nonsense."**

**Lady Pauline suppressed a smile. Arald had a well-known dislike of legal documents with their whereifs, wheretofores and notwithstandings**.

"How can any one have the patience for legal documents?" Duncan asked across the room in exasperation.

"Aye aye" chorused round the room from the men's lips. The Couriers how ever frowned.

"I'd rather bash and whack some bad people than read through legal documents." Horace said.

"Well that is why supposedly you are called a bash and whacker." Halt replied smoothly.

"Well when was the last time Rangers had to do any paper work?" Horace retorted, unable to think of a good enough come back so instead diverting the attention. Halt's eyebrows raised.

"Surprisingly us Rangers get a lot more paper work than you think isn't that right Will." He said calmly while successfully hiding his smile. Will groaned loudly. Alyss who was sitting next to him jerked at the unexpected sound.

"What is it?" She half snapped, still recovering from the shock.

"Halt has a huge report on the Outsiders that I still haven't finished." Will explained.

"What do you mean you haven't finished it's Halt's report isn't it?" Cassandra asked feeling pity for the man before her.

"Yes but I'm the one who has to complete it because Halt orders me to." Will who was looking down missed the warning look in his mentors eyes as he said those words, and now Halt was looking fearfully at Pauline beside him who's face was strangely smooth.

"Well Halt hasn't told me this before." Pauline said calmly. Though those around her knew Halt was in big trouble.

"I-" Halt stammered.

"You'll be doing the report first thing back at Redmont and no excuses." A threatening look had passed her eye as she saw her husband trying to interrupt her. Halt complied meekly. There was nothing much else he could say so he made do with the dirtiest look he could muster, in Will's direction. Will was now squirming in his seat evidently regretting that he had opened his mouth.

"**Sir Montague of Cobram Keep is obliged to ****supply a draft of four knights and ****thirty men-at-arms when called upon," she began.**

"**And I take it he is refusing to****do so?" said the Baron ****wearily.**

"**Not exactly, sir," she replied. "He is willing to ****supply the men. He is unwilling to ****place them, or himself, under your command."**

"What!?" The King barked. "How can that be? You can't run a kingdom like that." He looked set to go and put Montague in order when he realised that this was a book and these events had happened quite a while ago. He sat back down rather foolishly.

"That's exactly what I said." Arald sighed.

"Well then this Montague bloke must be a bit of a tosser." Will said casually.

"Oh he certainly was when Halt was finished with him." Alyss smiled warmly. Halt had to resist the temptation to smile back and though his face was still devoid of emotion, his lips were tilted to a smile still.

**Arald frowned. There was no trace of his customary good humor evident at that statement.**

"**But he ****is ****under my command," he said. "Cobram Keep is w****ithin the boundaries of Redmont ****Fief and I am his lord. And ****commander."**

**Pauline nodded agreement. "Correct, my lord. But he does have a case. A very tenuous one, I must say, but a case nonetheless."**

**Arald's face, already flushed with annoyance, became a little redder. "How can he have a case?" he demanded. "His castle is within my boundaries. I am the lord of Redmont ****Fief. He is my ****tenant. I am his commander. End of story. Ipso facto. Case-o closed-****o."**

"Case o closed o?" Duncan asked on the verge of laughing.

"Well I mean that was the only thing I could say really." The Baron shrugged and looked at everyone as if to see if any of them had heard of the phrase as well but none of them seemed to and nearly all of them were going to go into hysterics. To avoid this Arald signalled to Will to continue reading.

"**As he sees it, my lord, the ****whole thing hinges on a tr****eaty signed by his great-great-grand uncle ****and the present king's great****-great-grandfather, when Cobram Keep became part of the Kingdom of Araluen**** — ****and the Fief of Redmont. At that time, Cobram Keep was allowed to retain a certain ****level of independence."**

"**That's ridiculous! You can't run a kingdom like ****that! What was Duncan's great****-great-whatever-****he-was thinking?"**

"Excuse me?" Duncan had spoken again thoroughly offended.

"Sorry sir but it's just a figure of speech just like when earlier on in the book Will said he thought you were crazy." Arald defended himself. Will looked taken aback at his reference and was about to glare daggers at the Baron when he realised that it wouldn't be prudent to do so.

"**It was a gesture only, my lord. The said independence would ****apply only to certain matters of ****civil administration**** — ****the right to perform and register marriages, for example**** — not military ****matters."**

"**Well then!" Arald exclaimed, throwing his arms wide. "If that's the case, where is the problem?"**

"**The intent is obvious, my lord, in ****context. But this treaty was drawn up by lawyers, so there is a ****certain amb****iguity in the wording."**

"**Ambiguity is always certain when lawyers are involved," Arald said. ****His face brightened. He ****rather liked that piece of wordplay. It struck him as quite droll. He looked hopefully for a smile from Lady Pauline, but in vain. Deciding she must have missed it, he began again.**

"I can not believe you didn't get the joke." Arald exclaimed.

"Oh I got the joke I just didn't find it funny." Pauline said in the kindest possible way you could say those words. Will burst out laughing which got him another glare from the Baron and an elbow to the ribcage from Alyss. He stopped after that deciding that having a sense of humour was less important than keeping his bones in working order.

"**You see, you said 'a ****certain ambiguity' and I said, 'Ambiguity is always certain when'—"**

"**Yes, yes, my lord. Quite so," Pauline said, cutting him off. Arald looked disappointed. ****She continued: "Nigel and I have go****ne through the treaty, and the letter, and Nigel has drafted a reply. He has found seventeen points of law where Montague has grossly misrepresented the ****intent of the treaty. In short, he has destroyed Montague's case most comprehensively."**

"The Scribes always were good at doing that." Horace said. Will nodded in agreement.

"Remember George and how he wouldn't shut up?" Will laughed as he remembered those earlier days while he was in his first year of apprenticeship. The ward mates laughed at the memories of their long forgotten friend. He was so busy at the scribe school where he now had a permanent job that he had never gotten to see them.

"**He's good at that," Arald said, smiling once ****again. This time, Pauline smiled with him.**

"**None better, my lord," she said.**

"**So what's our next move?" the Baron asked. Pauline proffered the letter she had mentioned, but ****he waved it away. If Nigel and Pauline were happy with it, he knew it would be water tight. Pauline nodded. She appreciated the trust he placed in her.**

"Oh that's really sweet." Gilan said sincerely. Everyone looked at him oddly and he blushed. "I mean the fact that he puts his trust in her I mean it's sweet isn't it?"

"Are you a man or not?" Will asked astonished. At that Gilan blushed harder wishing he had never opened his mouth. He mumbled incoherently and only Jenny took pity on him, besides she liked a guy that could appreciate good moments and this was a good moment.

"**Very well, my lord. We'll do a final draft and ****I thought I might have one ****of my students deliver it."**

**She replaced the draft letter in a thin leather folder, and withdrew another document, laying it on the table in front of her and smoothing it out so that it lay flat.**

"**Now, my lord, there is another matter we must discuss…"**

**She saw the pained expression on the Baron's face. She knew he didn't want to discuss it.**

"What was the case?" Cassandra asked now curious. Will and Horace also wanted to know why the baron would not want to deal with a serious case.

"Yeah what was the case?" Will asked.

"Ask Halt he should know." Duncan smirked while Halt looked casually down at the table. He still hadn't told Will how bad tempered he was when Will was gone. First off he didn't want Will to think that he was mother henning him and now that he remembered his ill tempered times he was more than a little embarrassed about them. Still it couldn't be changed.

"**You're talking about this brouhaha with Halt, ****I suppose? I really don't have the time,"****he said, ****making dismissive gestures at her.**

"What brouhaha was this?" Will asked extremely amused. He liked the word the Baron had used. He wasn't the only one.

"Yes what brouhaha is the Baron talking about?" Horace asked feigning innocence. Both he and Will shared a glance at each other.

"Oh please not again I had enough of that from Pauline." Arald moaned. Pauline coughed as a way of hiding a laugh that would have escaped her. It was, Will thought not the most tactful way to disguise her laugh, then yet again she may not have been trying to hide it.

"**Nonetheless, my lord, it is a brouhaha that we must make time for." She tapped the ****document ****with one forefinger. "This is a summary of the brouhaha in question, my lord."**

Will laughed again then stopped. Surely he wouldn't get poked in the ribs or evil eyed for laughing at this would he? But he was safe. Cassandra and Horace both joined him and Pauline gave a little smile.

**Arald glanced up at her. She seemed to be quite fond of that word, he thought. Or she was gently ****making fun of his choice of ****it in the first place. But Lady Pauline's f****ace gave nothing away. She ****continued: "If you care to look through it?"**

**He reached for it reluctantly. Pauline had known that he would try to avoid the subject. It was distasteful for all of them, but unfortunately, it had to be resolved. At that moment, there was a heavy-****handed knock at the door to the Baron's office and, grateful for any interruption, he hastily called, "Come in!"**

"I never realised my hot temper had such an effect." Halt mused.

"It affected us alright, you were as bad as a provoked tiger." Arald said shaking his head at Halt's foolishness. Halt raised his eyebrows.

"How could you not think your temper doesn't have any effect? Have you not seen the state you turn men into with your short fuse?" Will muttered then continued reading so as to avoid Halt's gaze whom he was sure was giving him another one of his infamous glares.

**She frowned at the distraction. It was Sir Rodney, head of the Redmont Battleschool. He threw the door open and entered with a little more than his usual energy. He was talking before he had even crossed the threshold.**

"Of course that has always been Rodney's ways." Arald laughed.

"Booming in every direction." Horace laughed.

"**My lord, you're simply going to have ****to do something about Halt!" he ****said. Then, noticing Lady Pauline, he made a small gesture of apology. "Oh, sorry, Pauline, didn't see you there."**

**Lady Pauline inclined her head in acknowledgment of the apology. The department heads at Redmont were all good friends. There was no petty jealousy between them, none of the manoeuvring for influence and favour that plagued some fiefs.**

"Obviously not why should we? We are after all good friends, honestly who wrote this book?" Arald shook his head again.

"Well there are many fiefs where the heads of department don't get along too well." Will said. Only Alyss and Horace were thinking along the same lines as him. Orman and Keren.

"It never occurred to me before that there ever used to be jealousy between departments because it never happened here." Cassandra added.

"You're very lucky that we all have an understanding relationship between one another." Duncan told her.

**The Baron sighed deeply. "What has he done now?" he asked.**

"**Do I sense another brouhaha in the making?" Lady Pauline said innocently and he glanced ****suspiciously at her. She seemed not to notice.**

"I do like that phrase I had forgotten it." Pauline said. Halt looked at her with worry on his face. If she liked a phrase or any piece of wording chances were she'd practise them in front of her 'special mirror' until she mastered the use correctly. He would have to yet again get used to sleepless nights as he endured her crazy habit.

"**Well, one of my fourth****-year apprentices was stupid enough to make a remark about Will and ****Horace being sent off on ****a soft assignment. Said that's all they were good for."**

Horace frowned in anger at this, Will however laughed again, apparently seeing the funny side in being insulted.

"**Oh, dear," said Lady Pauline. "I do hope he didn't make this remark in Halt's hearing?"**

"**Unfortunately, yes," said Rodney. "He's not a bad lad. ****All muscle and bone, mind you, and a good deal of that between his ears. But he was feeling his oats a little and told Halt to mind his ****own business." He paused, then added, by way of explanation, "Everyone's a little jumpy, what ****with all the preparations ****for war."**

"That doesn't excuse what the silly brat said." Halt muttered darkly.

"Well what did you end up doing to him Halt?" Will asked positively. He didn't like being taken fun out of and he was certain his mentor had done something to teach the apprentice a lesson.

"You'll see." Halt smiled wolfishly.

"**So how is the lad?" Arald asked. Rodney shrugged.**

"**The infirmary says there's no lasting damage. He'll be back ****on duty in a ****few days‟ time. But the point is, I can't have Halt going around damaging my apprentices. I'm going to need them soon."**

"THE INFIRMARY?" Will howled with laughter and Horace laughed too. "What did you do to the poor lad?" He was still laughing when Halt shrugged nonchalantly.

**Arald toyed with one of the ****quill pens on his desk. "He's definitely been difficult these past few days," he said. "It's like having a ****bear with a sore head around ****the castle. In fact, I think ****I might ****prefer a bear with a sore head. It would be less disrup****tive."**

"Oh dear why were you being so disruptive Halt?" Cassandra asked mockingly. Halt glared.

"Yeah why were you being so disruptive? What happened to make you feel that way." Will was serious now. If Halt had been injured while he'd gone and not told him…

"It's none of your business." Halt snapped wishing the chapter were over.

"Now now Halt I think it is their business since your anger is to do with them." Gilan smiled.

"To do with us? What did we do to make Halt angry with us?" Will asked clearly worried.

"Read on and all shall be revealed." Alyss said mystically while Will groaned again. Why was it she could never give him a straight answer. Even when he proposed to her she played around with him. Did she actually enjoy making him squirm?

"**We were about to discuss Halt's behaviour as ****you arrived," Lady Pauline said, taking the opportunity to return the conversation to the case in hand. "There's been a complaint about him from Sir Digby of Barga."**

"Digby? Oh not that trumpet headed fool. What does he have to complain about? It

seems that's all he ever does." Duncan said angrily.

"**Digby?" Rodney said, a frown touching ****his face. "Didn't he try to short change ****us on his draft of ****men?"**

"**Exactly," said the Baron. "We're having ****a lot of that going on ****at the moment. So ****I sent Halt to ****straighten matters out. Thought it might be a good idea to give him something to keep him ****busy."**

"It might have worked if I hadn't been so bad tempered." Halt said sympathetically.

"Well obviously something went wrong with that." Horace said casually.

"What did you do this time Halt? Shoot an arrow into his calf like Alda?" Will asked innocently.

"I only do that with idiotic apprentices remember the night you spent up a tree?" Halt shot back. He was pleased to see Will blush while Alyss repressed a smile and Cassandra laughed out loud, disbanding all diplomacy.

"When was this?" She asked. Will ignored her. It didn't matter, she thought to herself, Alyss was bound to tell her anyways. Will continued with the chapter to distract the audience who like Cassandra wanted to know why he was given this punishment.

"**So what's Digby got to complain about?" Rodney asked. It was obvious ****from his tone that he ****felt no sympathy for the recalcitrant commander of Barga Hold.**

"Hear hear." Duncan said emphatically.

**The Baron gestured for Lady Pauline to explain.**

"**Apparently," she said, "Halt threw him into the ****moat."**

"YOU WHAT?" Will said too stunned to laugh.

"I threw him into a moat." Halt replied.

"Why?"

"Stop asking so many questions." Halt said irritably.

"It's because he was missing you." Pauline told Will to his great embarrassment.

"Oh right well… I mean that's O.K Halt I missed you too I guess-"

"Will?"

"Yes Halt?"

"Shut up."

"O.K."


End file.
